The Love Legend
by Ash-X7
Summary: Strictly UsagiSeiya Fics. The Legend never dies even if it's a thousand years later. A promising story of romance between the Dark Lord and the Maiden of the Light, war between Heaven and Hell, and fantasy way beyond simple fairytale.
1. The Thousand Years Promise

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**The Love Legend: The Thousand Years Promise**

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Legend has it that a thousand years ago, earth was created as a battlefield for the gods and heroes, the continuing waging of war between Heaven and Hell. The death of millions warriors were reincarnated into mortals with their memories along with their powers erased. They were forced to live on earth for eternity.

Heaven was said to be ruled by _'The Divine-Ancient Tree'_ which originated and gave life to the many gods and heroes. It was the main power source for all heavenly beings and the defenders could not afford it to get destroyed.

He was rumored to be once the most beautiful and powerful angel in Heaven, the chosen god to hold the legendary 'Heaven-will'; a sword that was believe to contain the heart power of The Divine Tree. He, with Heaven-will, was supposed to claim the title as the '_King of Gods_'. Greed, rage, and jealousy spread across the hearts of several general gods. The Greed for power, the Rage, and Jealousy of having to lose Heaven-will to a young god turned into betrayal and elimination towards the future King.

That night, the young god was being pursued by thousand of godly warriors and generals. After several vicious fights, they managed to enslave _'The Chain of Forbidden'_ onto his hands. The heavy and powerful chains were meant to suppress his power and prevent him from ever returning to heaven. He swore vengeance against all those who opposed him and brought along Heaven-will as he fell into the very end of hell. While the color of his eyes still held the resemblance of the night sky, his once, long blonde hair soon turned black due to the evolution of his dark power. He, who once owned Heaven-will, was now the dominator of the legendary darkness sword, Doom-will.

It was said that the power of Doom-will allowed him to cut through the deepest sea, to call forth the deadest storm, and to end any existence whether they were high-ranked gods, strong demons or well-known heroes. His enemies feared him, his followers respected him, and thus 'The Dark Lord' was born.

Seeking for vengeance, The Dark Lord planned to eliminate all heavenly-being and to take back what meant to be his.

Hell declared war with Heaven.

During the chaos, a new light emerged. The light, who adored freedom, belonged to neither heaven nor hell. Since it wandered the earth, little was known about its purpose or origin. While it took the form of a young maiden, it was believed that she was The Divine-Tree itself or the escape light from Heaven-will before it was turned into Doom-will. It was said she held the beauty to mesmerize any men alive. Her long gold hair shone the light of the sun, her smile could end all suffering and her power to create miracles, they gave her the name, 'Maiden of the Light'.

Fate had brought the maiden and the Dark Lord together. Their love and devotion for each other were so strong that they were made into stories. Upon knowing her existence and relation with the Dark Lord, heaven had the maiden captured and imprisoned. It was then when the Dark Lord grew black, powerful wings in the attempt to save his lover as he flew up to heaven. However, due to the burden of the Chain of Forbidden, the Dark Lord's power was greatly weakened while he battled through the Heaven Gate.

Sensing her lover's presence, the maiden managed to escape from the imprisonment. She witnessed from afar as the Dark Lord used all his available strength to fight past any opposing heavenly-beings. It was at that moment when the maiden released her angelic-wings and embraced into his arms.

Unity did not last long before a hundred holy swords were pierced through the Dark Lord's body as he tried to protect the maiden.

Time seemed to have frozen itself…

The devastated maiden held him tightly. As she cried over his motionless body, she channeled a light taken from her life source. _'The Light of Hope'_ purified all souls, gave new life, and placed a stop to the continuous war.

'_The Hidden Paradise'_ was where the sleeping lord laid.

The fading maiden whispered…

"_My light shall protect you from any disturbance. My heart will forever be with you. Shall we meet again in a thousand years to come?"_

She sealed it with a kiss of promise…

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**Visit the Online The Love Legend Site! www(dot)****thelovelegend(dot)bravehost(slash)com**

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**Warning:** Before you continue to the next chap, please note that this fanfiction is seriously dedicated to Usagi&Seiya **ONLY.** If you are **NOT** a supporter of U/S please **DO NOT** read the following story

I do not own Sailormoon. But, the current story you are reading is originated by me. No stealing of ideas or claiming it as one of yours. Thank you!

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	2. The Tale So Far

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**The Tale So Far**

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"WAAAAHHH!! WAAAHHHH!!"

"What happened?! What with all those…" Rei exclaimed, rushing into a room only to find a group of children crying.

She was followed by Makoto, who calmly walked in as she set her pair of green eyes at the unpleasant scenario.

"Usagi-hime!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Rei shrieked, her eyes enlarged angrily at her crying princess who had her hair neatly tied up in two buns.

"Rei, don't jump into conclusion that it's Usagi-hime's fault." Makoto whispered before she thoughtfully approached Usagi and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Hime, what's wrong?"

A pair of tearing blue eyes looked up at her.

"Th-the story… IT'S SO TOUCHING" Usagi sniffed and gestured at the book she was holding.

"Why you…! USAGI-HIME!! Just because of a stupid story, you made all our guests cry?!" Rei exploded at her.

Deciding to ignore her two friends, Makoto proceeded to calm the children down.

"It's not a stupid story!! It's a beautiful love story!" Usagi protested. "You are being too heartless, Rei!"

"Now, let's not start another Usagi and Rei fight. Can the both of you please help to calm the princess and princesses down?" Makoto asked with an intention to prevent a war from taking place, and to her relief, her two friends just nodded quietly.

It took them quite a while to ease the cries, and after the young guests had finally calmed down, Makoto volunteered to lead the children out to the garden, leaving Rei and Usagi behind.

"So, how long do you intend to stay here, Princess Usagi-sama? There's a grand ball going on outside and it will be very rude of you if you don't meet with the guests." Rei stated with a sigh.

"Rei! You should know how much I hated balls and parties!"

"But you are the princess of Kinmoku, you can't afford to miss out events especially one that celebrate the King's birthday."

"I love father, but you should know that I am not… the real princess…" Usagi stated softly, her expression saddened.

Rei softened her eyes as she took Usagi's hands, deciding to switch the subject in hope to cheer her best friend up. "But I heard that the mighty Celestial Knight was invited to the party too. Don't you want to meet him?"

"Celestial Knight? The hero who said to have slay a living giant?! Oh oh! Is he the one who tamed a dragon? Are you serious that he's here? But, why would he want to visit such a small kingdom like ours?" Usagi exclaimed in astonishment.

"I heard it has something to do with the seeking of a legendary sword. Anyway, I thought he was some urban legend till I was told of his arrival tonight. But, don't get your hopes up. He may turn out to be an old and unattractive gentleman."

"I can't believe you, Rei! The Celestial Knight is definitely not what you've pictured him to be." Usagi stared at the ceiling with dreamy eyes. "He must be a strong, handsome, and most importantly, a charming hero that rides on a white mount…"

"Hello… Usagi… wake up!" Rei rapidly waved her hands in front of her princess as she tried to bring her back to reality.

"Man, I can't take it anymore. I bet your crazy imagination got even worse after reading that book." Rei commented, gluing her eyes on the book that was left on the chair.

"That's rude! 'The Love Legend' is not imagined!" Usagi protested.

"Whatever. So, do you want to meet The Celestial Knight or not?" Rei asked impatiently.

"Of course I do! Let's go!" Usagi cheered and slipped her hands into Rei's arm as they made their way to the ballroom.

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"Where? Where is he!?" Usagi asked the excitedly.

"He must be among the crowd somewhere…" Rei guessed as she tried to screen through the crowded ballroom.

The royal hall was filled with various countries nobilities and the sound of chattering and greetings can be heard from every corner, making it very difficult to spot any familiar faces, let alone catch sight of a man she hadn't met before.

"There you are Usagi…"

The two girls turned toward the call and saw King Tsukino with Princess Kakyuu, behind them stood two older gentlemen.

"Greetings my lord and princess Kakyuu" Rei bowed.

"Father… Kakyuu…" Usagi muttered with a slight hint of surprise.

"I have been looking for you for ages. Where have you been?" King Tsukino asked worriedly.

"I was telling stories to the little princes and princesses at the guestroom. Sorry to have you worried, Father." Usagi apologized and avoided Kakyuu's glare, sensing how displeased she was with her father's concern towards her.

King Tsukino let out a sigh, but decided not to question his daughter further as he proceeded and introduced the two gentlemen to Usagi.

Usagi forced a smile at them and greeted them reluctantly. That was the reason why she disliked events and parties. Her father would always try to pair her up with some future kings or royalties' men and she wasn't very fond of coming up with new excuses each time to reject dates or marriage proposals.

Rei could immediately tell the two gentlemen were interested in Usagi. But, which man wouldn't? Scanning through the room, she even spotted some men secretly glancing over to her princess, even though most of them already had partners.

Looking back at Usagi, Rei could understand why she was always the centre of attention. Having the most beautiful eyes that seemed to sparkle in the night, fair and tender skin that needed no make-up and, long golden hair that shone light of the sun. Definitely, she didn't need to make the effort to doll herself up to look elegant and beautiful.

In the eyes of all those present, she was like a living goddess sent down from heaven. So, who could blame princess Kakyuu from envying such a divine beauty?

"I will like to excuse myself. I am not feeling too well…" Usagi lied, getting sick of all the noble chatting.

"Are you alright? Do you want me to take you to your room?" King Tsukino and the two gentlemen asked together in concern.

There were a few second of awkward silent, and from the corner of her eyes, Usagi could tell that Kakyuu wasn't very pleased with their concern over her.

"No… no… I will be fine on my own. I will have Rei to accompany me back. I hope everyone enjoy your night."

Usagi gave a princess-like bow before turning away, only to turned back with a sweet smile as she recalled something important. "Happy birthday, Father."

At that moment, all the men who witnessed her smile were mesmerized by it. Smiling to himself, King Tsukino believed that he had received the best gift for the night.

While trying to search for an exit, Rei and Usagi caught sight of screaming girls circling two young men who had their hairs tied back into pony-tails. Both of them wore a rather displeased expression on their charming faces.

"They seem to be of our age! And they are HOT!!" Rei exclaimed excitedly.

"I wonder if one of them is the Celestial Knight!" Usagi added with anticipation.

Immediately, she followed Rei and tried to squeeze through the crowd to get a closer look. But strangely, the more Usagi tried to get closer, the further she got pushed away, and eventually she found herself shoved out of the ballroom.

"Celestial Knight!!" Usagi called out but the huge door just shut on her with a loud thud.

She pouted and stood back up, pondering whether to get back in.

"Forget it! Who cares about the Celestial Knight anyway? He must be an old, ugly man who only has muscles to be proud of!" She yelled aloud, feeling much better after comforting herself with lies.

"Hey! You there!"

Usagi heard a voice calling out to her as her eyes began searching through the empty open-area passage.

"Over here, Odango!"

She turned towards the tall tree situated in the garden and to her astonishment, on the very peak of the thick tree branch, under the bright moonlight, sat the most gorgeous night creature she had ever seen.


	3. He's the Celestial Knight

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**He's Celestial Knight**

**-**

Usagi could not set her eyes off the figure. Leaping off from the top of the tree, he made his way towards her. As he moved closer into her vision, she was trapped by his stunning dark blue eyes that reminded her of her favorite night-sky. The dark atmosphere made the robe he was wearing appeared almost black, and along with his long black hair that sprawled out against the wind, she almost lost his breath just by looking at him. He seemed too perfect to be considered a human and Usagi secretly believed that he was an angel if he had wings.

Usagi could feel her temperature rose as he approached her. But, lucky for her, she could hide her obvious red face behind the dark shades.

"You know, it's not very nice to curse someone in the face." He bent forward and looked at her in the eyes.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Usagi asked timidly, avoiding his eyes since she wasn't sure if she could handle looking at him any longer without blushing.

"You don't know me?" He threw her a shock look before covering his forehead with his hand, "Well, guess I am not as famous as I thought."

"Who are yo-…"

Usagi's question was instantly interrupted by a loud door crashing down from behind, followed by deafening noise created by screaming ladies.

The young man let out a disturbed sigh as if he could foresee a coming commotion.

"Guess I got to get running. See you around, Odango!" He gave Usagi a wink before disappearing into the darkness.

"My name is not Odango!" Usagi shouted back, but the mysterious man was already gone.

Stunned for a second, Usagi placed her hands onto her chest. It felt warm inside; a strange yet familiar feeling. As she stared at the empty passage, she wondered.

"_Have we met before?"_

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"We got to get our hands on The Doom-will before The Dark Lord awakes." A man with his face hidden under a black hood spoke. He was accompanied by three other men in a dim room.

"We have been searching a hundred years for it. Do you think it was buried inside 'Hidden Paradise' with its owner?" the young man with short navy-blue hair asked.

"It will be troublesome and almost impossible to obtain it if the legend is true, Saphir. From what I remembered, due to the chain of forbidden, the dark lord did not bring the Doom-will along during the rescue attempt." The old man sat down as he explained.

"So if it's not inside the Hidden Paradise, where on earth can it be?" an impatient man with fury-red eyes asked.

"Maybe it's not on earth…" all eyes were on the seated old man after he stated the remark.

"Not on earth? You mean…" the man who most likely was the leader questioned.

"Yes, Prince Demand… Hell itself."

There was a moment of silent.

"What do you mean… Hell?! How on earth are we supposed to get there besides dying?"

"Calm down, Rubes. I heard that there's someone else beside us who is seriously hunting for The Doom-will." Saphir claimed.

"Are you referring to the Celestial Knight?" asked Prince Demand.

"Yes, Demand-sama. It was said that he holds divine power and some even believed he is a heavenly-being. We should track him down and have him to let out any information regarding the Doom-will." suggested Saphir.

"I get your point, Saphir. I will have you in charge of dealing with the Celestial Knight then."

"I will be happy to, Demand-sama."

"Rubes, I will need you to continue with the search for The Priestess of Time. I am sure she knows the whereabouts of the doom-will."

"I will try my best, Wise-man. But it seems like the priestess is as well hidden as the sword."

In a serious-tone, Wise-man continued, "We got to hurry… We don't have much time left… The Dark Lord will soon rise again."

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" Ahhhh!! I'm late! Father is going to be so mad at me!" Usagi shrieked anxiously as she dashed past several maids and guards. She hadn't had much sleep the previous night since she couldn't stop thinking about the mysterious guy whom she had encountered.

"I'm so sorry, for being late… I…"

Usagi reaching the dining room stopped her apologies and gasped in surprise, because seated before her was the King and Princess Kakyuu with the two idol-looking guys from the last night grand ball.

"There you are Usagi! I was about to send my men over to wake you up." King Tsukino continued, "I will like you to meet Sir Taiki and Sir Yaten. They are the great companions of The Celestial Knight."

"_So, they are not the celestial knight after all..."_ Usagi thought to herself.

She greeted Yaten and Taiki formally before apologizing for her delay.

"You don't have to apologize, princess. Our dear Celestial Knight is not even here yet. Talk about impoliteness! He's the worse!" Yaten scowled.

"I sincerely apologize for his action." Taiki apologized to the king on behalf of the Celestial Knight.

Yaten looking even more irritated than before spoke out loudly, "Why are you apologizing for that idiot, Taiki! He was the one who abandoned us last night when we were being mobbed by a bunch of nuisance girls! And why would they even give a self-centered, ignorant and rude bastard like him the title 'Celestial Knight'?! He should be given the name Idiotic dude or Stupid Flee!!"

After he finished his sentence, a stone came from nowhere hitting Yaten on his head. He reacted with an "EeeDai (It hurts)!" before shooting up from his seat angrily while everyone turned their attention towards the entrance.

"Who was that Idiotic dude or Stupid Flee you were implying, Yaten?"

Usagi could feel her heart increased its pace once more as she stared at the young man who was leaning against the door with his arms folded.

"YOU IDIOT…!!" Yaten raged from his seat while Taiki tried pulling him back.

"What took you so long?" Taiki, with a smile, asked.

"I was doing some research and for some reason I found myself in a place that I am not familiar with. Then, I tried looking for a clear direction but found myself in a whole new place again. It took me an hour to figure out the location to the dinning room." The young man replied after a thought.

"JUST SAY YOU GOT LOST!!" Yaten yelled at him.

Taiki covered Yaten's mouth before turning over to the shocked King. "Let me introduce you… he is…"

"Seiya Kou, the Celestial Knight. I apologize for my late arrival, King Tsukino." Seiya interrupted.

"_It can't be true… he's the Celestial Knight?!"_ Usagi was screaming in her head.

Coming back to his sense, King Tsukino responded, "No no, you do not have to apologize. I should thank you for willing to visit such a small kingdom like ours. Yes, I will like you to meet my two lovely daughters, Kakyuu and …. "

"ODANGO!! You are the girl from last night." Seiya gazing down at Usagi exclaimed excitedly, interrupting King Tsukino's introduction.

For a brief moment, the room was filled with silent as everyone glanced back and forth at each other, all wondering the same question, _"They knew each other?"_

Usagi could only stare back at those dark-blue eyes and blush.

"We met last night remember?" Seiya asked, bending slightly and leaning closer to Usagi which made her flushed even more at his intimacy.

Not knowing how to react, Usagi stiffly stood up, "I…I … Thank you for dinner! Please excuse me from here!"

She gave a quick bow and dashed out of the room.

Seiya noticed her untouched food questioned out of confusion. "Dinner? I thought this was breakfast…and… she hadn't even touched her food."

Yaten and Taiki pointed at Seiya and commented together, "You scared her away."

Their remarks had Seiya glaring back at them.

"Seiya-san, you don't have to bother about Usagi. She does weird stuffs most of the time. Why don't you join us for breakfast?" Kakyuu voiced out and gave Seiya one of her sweetest smile.

"I usually skip breakfast…" He replied uncaringly

(Yaten and Taiki in the background: "You do?")

"Don't worry, I will get her back." Seiya turned and rushed out of the room.

"Looks like he's the only one worrying…" Taiki commented to Yaten.

"Do I look like I give a damn?" Yaten yelled back.

As she sat there, princess Kakyuu could feel her jealousy raging.

"Usagi! I'm not giving him to you! The Celestial Knight is MINE!"

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Author's note: Prince Demand is also known as Prince Diamond/Demando. Saphir is also known as Saphhire in the English sub.


	4. The Color of His Eyes

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**The Color of His Eyes**

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"What am I doing?" Usagi, who could run no further, stopped at the end of the walkway as she tried to catch her breath.

"_Why did I run away? And it feel as if my heart is about to explode whenever I look into his eyes."_ She took a deep breath to clear her thoughts, followed by a stomach groan.

"I'm hungry…"

"Would you like to have some grilled fish then? Odango…" a familiar voice from behind asked.

Usagi turned around, shocked to find Seiya standing behind her. "Why… Why are you here?!" she exclaimed with a nervous tone.

"To think that a girl would actually run away from me... Jeez, do you hate me that much, Odango?" He asked with a trouble expression.

What a question.

Usagi clearly knew the answer: there was no way she hated him. However, she wasn't ready to let him know that as she ignored his question and pretended to be irritated. "I don't even know you! And stop calling me Odango. My name is Usagi! Princess Usagi-sama for you!"

"Yes, yes… Princess Odango-sama… would you like to visit the town with me to ease your hunger?"

"Town? There's countless food in the palace… And, I told you not to call me that! My name is U-SA-GI!" Usagi emphasized while her stomach let out another groan.

"The palace food is boring. I always wanted to try the grilled fish ever since I got here… Come on! Let's go… Your stomach is agreeing with me…" Seiya urged and grabbed Usagi by her hand.

"Wait… wait! I can't go!" Usagi tried pulling back exclaimed. "Fa-father doesn't allow me to step out of the palace…"

"What? Don't tell me you have never seen or visited any place besides here?!" Seiya asked, sounding rather shock.

"What if I hadn't?! Father said that the world is too dangerous and there are a lot of evil people outside! I am just fine here! I don't need to visit anywhere else…" Usagi lied, avoiding his eyes in hope that Seiya could not see through her lies, but she was caught red-handed instantly.

"You are lying."

Unconvinced, Seiya scooped her up in his arms in a bridal style. "You are light… Ok! Let's go!"

"Wait! I say wait! Let me down…I…"

Usagi could feel her heart pounding hard against her chest as she tried to struggle away from him.

"Someone who adores freedom like you would most probably feel lonely behind those thick walls, wouldn't you?" He asked calmly as if he could see through her characteristics.

Usagi stopped struggling at this remark. She had never told anyone about her feeling. So how did he know? She looked up, wanting to question him, but found herself in a daze the moment their eyes met.

"_Those eyes… they seem so familiar…"_

Then, a fierce female voice interrupted their thoughts.

"You there! What do you think you are doing with our princess! Let the Usagi-hime down!"

"Makoto-chan!" Usagi exclaimed in surprised as she watched her friend drew out her sword and charged towards them.

"Wait! Makoto-chan! This is a misunderstanding…"

Usagi words fell into deaf ears as Makoto attacked Seiya.

"Oh! You know her?" Seiya asked casually while dodging every single strike with extreme ease.

"Yes, she's one of my personal bodyguards. Her swordplay is known to be the best in the entire kingdom." Usagi replied.

"Well, I think your kingdom needs better training then. Even the slow Yaten can put up a better play than this." He commented in a carefree tone.

Usagi remained silent at his comment when she finally realized that Seiya was avoiding Makoto's attack with little to no effort at all. What amazed her was that he appeared to be dancing as he stepped back and forth at each strike while carrying her in his arms.

"Who are you calling SLOW, you idiot?!"

Usagi glimpsed at the person yelling, only to find Yaten with Taiki and Kakyuu standing beside a pillar, a distance away from them.

"Yo!" Seiya greeted Yaten while still dodging the coming attacks.

"DON'T YO ME!!" Yaten exclaimed angrily. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING LADY GUARD! KILL HIM! SLICE HIM TO MANY PIECES! GRILL HIM ALIVE!"

Yaten was already jumping up and down vigorously while Taiki tried calming him down.

Makoto ignored him, feeling frustrated that Seiya could predict her every move. Not wanting to give in, she decided to use her deadliest attack. She speeded up her charge, lifted her sword with both hands and went for his chest without remembering Usagi's presence.

"Oh no!"

It was then when Makoto realized that her finishing blow might deal a cut on her princess. She tried tilling her swing to the side, but her hasty speed could not allow her to perform it on time.

As the sword came falling onto Usagi, she let out a scream and closed her eyes but felt no pain. Finding it weird, Usagi lifted her lids gradually and to her astonishment, she discovered a black blade blocking Makoto's sword from landing onto her.

"Seiya…" Usagi blushed realizing he was the one who drew the sword out to protect her.

"If you want to protect someone, at least know how to control your pace." Seiya told Makoto sternly.

His seriousness had Usagi blushing even more as she watched how his eyes sharpened into a serious glare, showing off his dominancy.

"I'm… I'm so sorry…Princess! Are you alright?" Makoto asked, her eyes filled with concern and sadness.

Usagi gave her friend a comforting smile, "No worries, Makoto-chan. I am fine!"

"Tell your king that the celestial knight had brought the princess to the town." Seiya cut in quickly before turning away from the crowd and disappearing in a blink of an eye.

A hidden figure stood from afar smirked at the whole incident, "This is only the beginning…"

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"Che… He did not die…" Yaten stated in disappointment as he sat down on the table occupied with books.

"Don't mess them up. I have a difficult time sorting them out." Taiki, who was planning to go through every single one of them, informed.

"These books are useless. Why don't we just find that priestess and have her answer our question? Didn't we come all the way here because of this?"

"But we do not know who and where exactly she is." Taiki replied, his eyes still not leaving the page.

"Che… I would rather find her than to read all these! Seriously, that damn Seiya have been slacking away ever since we arrived here!"

"Let him be. I've never seen him this happy before…" Taiki commente, putting down the book. "Do you remember the first time we met him? He never had this smile…"

They recalled the time when their village was being invaded by bandits who had an oversized ogre as their boss. That night, men were killed, women were raped and valuables were taken. Their parents were murdered right before their eyes as they tried to protect their children. In the end, the whole village was set on fire. The two boys tried to flee away for their life, but soon found themselves surrounded. When they thought it was the end…

"He came… those eyes… color of cold darkness…" Taiki continued in a serious tone. "He killed every single one with a slash. Then, he beheaded the ogre and placed it in front of us… his first words were: 'Tears can't kill' …"

"That bastard… trying to act all cool…His arrogance stayed the same throughout the years!" Yaten clutched his knuckles but let them loose eventually, "We followed him ever since… huh?"

"Ya… He is our master, our friend, our companion and the most important person to us ever since…" Taiki stated with a smile.

"No! He's not! That's disgusting Taiki!" Yaten yelled back with a faint blush.

"Is that so? Then why did you grow your hair to be like him? When we were much younger, you had really short hair since you think it was manlier that way." Taiki chuckled.

"I-I… I didn't grow my hair because of him! It's because I am too lazy to cut it… that's all!" Yaten lied anxiously.

Taiki chuckled lightly. "Alright! Alright! We are strong and alive now because of him… I promised myself to serve him till the day I die… What's more, we had many fun adventures together!"

"There's nothing fun being with him! All these years, we always get ourselves into a whole lot of mess fighting monsters and demons. And… and… WHY THE HELL HADN'T HE AGED ABIT?!" Yaten exclaimed in disbelief

"Now that you mention... You are right. His appearance seems to stay the same throughout the years… maybe it's because he's an angel or a god…" Taiki concluded half-jokingly.

"An angel? God? More like a devil to me…" Yaten objected without hesitation.

Taiki laughed at Yaten's comment. "Although the color of his eyes reminded me of the dark heavenl, they do give off a cold chill of death. Which sometime, they have me believing that he is the Dark Lord."

Yaten was quite taken aback by Taiki's remarks "The Dark Lord? Seiya? Impossible, impossible…"

Taiki smiled back. "Whether he is or not… I will help him obtain the Doom-will."

"Doom-will? I can give you some information regarding it." An unfamiliar voice interrupted.

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	5. This is where it all started

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**This is where it started**

**--**

"Can you put me down now? Everyone is staring at us…" Usagi demanded.

But she was once again ignored by Seiya who was busy searching through the busy street while carrying her in his arms. People were moving quickly, there were many chatting and shouting going on and all the stores were open for business.

"Hmmm… where could it be? This town isn't that big…" Seiya muttered while he stood at the midst of the pathway, not realizing the amount of attention that was drawn to them due to their exclusive attires and attractive looks.

"Are you listening to me?! I said put me down…!" Usagi struggled.

"Sh… sh… We will grab everyone's attention if you continue to make so much noise." Seiya tried calming her down.

"We've already grabbed lots of attention!" Usagi argued back.

"Alright! You don't have to shout. Do you know how many girls are willing to die just for me to carry them?" Seiya added while placeing her lightly down.

"Like I care…" Usagi lied as she turned away from him but Seiya immediately grabbed her hand into his.

"Hey! You… Let go of-"

"Your father is right. Especially for a rare beauty like you, I can understand why he had you locked away from this dangerous world. So, this is an order. Do not leave my side, you hear me?" Seiya demanded gently.

Usagi could tell from his stern voice that he wasn't lying. She nodded with a blush and his lead. Soon, she found her enthusiasm and curiosity overpowered her hunger as they toured around the town. She would stop at an accessories store, pointed at various items and asked Seiya to explain them to her. Next, she would pull him to a candy shop and pleaded him to get her some interesting looking sweets.

Each time, Seiya would find himself explaining every simple object to Usagi, while she would listen attentively. It looked as thought he was taking care of an innocent child. But secretly, he enjoyed every single moment with her. And for the very first time, he felt almost human.

"Wait… Wait!" Seiya interrupted and stopped suddenly. "I smell those grilled fish!"

Both of their stomachs groaned at the same time. Finally realizing they hadn't eaten anything heavy for hours, they dashed towards the location that the smell was coming from.

"Twenty grilled fish!" The couple told the vendor together.

"Twenty?! Are you sure? You will become a fat Odango by the time you finish them…" Seiya teased, eyeing at her suspiciously.

"I'm afraid you won't be able to leap onto buildings like you did after those TWENTY…" Usagi fought back.

The couple stared speechlessly at each other for a few second.

"MAKE IT FORTY THEN!!" they turned back and commanded their order.

--

* * *

--

"I may be able to give you some information regarding the Doom-will." the girl with short blue hair claimed.

"Who are you?" Yaten asked suspiciously as he stared straight into her blue eyes.

"I would like to apologize for overhearing some of your conversation, since the door was left ajar." the mysterious girl continued, "The priestess of time sent me here for a trade."

"What trade? And why should we trust you?" Taiki cut in.

The girl smiled. "You can choose not to trust me. But, you may regret it if you are to reject our kind offer now."

Taiki returned her with a grin. "Why would the priestess of time send someone like you to do her job?"

"The priestess never would lay her finger on anything that does not benefit her. You do not have to know too much regarding her. I can tell you what you want to know, and in return you do the same for me." The girl replied calmly.

"What do you or the priestess wants to know then?" Taiki asked carefully.

"It's really simple. I would like you to tell me more about the Celestial Knight, Seiya Kou, and his reason for hunting the Doom-will."

Taiki and Yaten were taken aback.

"What?! Do you think we would actually tell you…"

Yaten was once again cut in by Taiki.

"Sorry, but we will not reveal anything that might place our companion into danger." Taiki replied seriously which made her locked her eyes at him.

"_Those eyes…" _Taiki thought, _"They seem to contain some hidden energy."_

"You do not have to worry. The last thing the priestess would want to do is to harm him." She gave them an assure look.

"You mean the priestess knew Seiya?" Taiki asked in shock.

"Again, you do not have to know about this. But, I can ensure you that the priestess will never turn against him."

For some reason, Taiki trusted her words.

"Alright… We will tell you what you've come here for." Taiki replied.

"What?! Are you serious Taiki?! What if she's planning something…" Yaten protested.

"Don't worry. I will never let her lay a finger on Seiya." Taiki told Yaten firmly.

"Look like we have come to an agreement then." The girl concluded with a smile.

The atmosphere turned tense.

-

* * *

-

"I can't eat anymore!" Usagi exclaimed, leaning back lazily onto the wooden bench.

The couple had found a comfortable spot just beside a small fountain as they sat and have their lunch.

"Of course you can't! I have never met a girl who can swallow twenty grilled fish in less than fifteen minutes." Seiya teased.

Usagi stared at him with a blush before arguing back. "And I've never met a knight who would go this far for some fish…"

For a second, Seiya could only stare back in defeat.

"_Hehe… I win!"_ Usagi thought to herself. She did not notice how much she enjoyed fighting back with him.

"By the way…" Seiya suddenly voiced in a different tone. "Have you heard about the Love Legend?"

Usagi blinked at him for a second, surprised by his sudden change in subject before nodding, "I've read about it…"

"Your golden hair and sky-blue eyes, the Maiden of the Light, she has them too…" Seiya told her as he leaned closer and stared into her clear blue orbs.

Once again, Usagi heart started pounding rapidly as their eyes met.

"But I bet she's not an Odango!" Seiya teased.

Usagi stood up agitatedly, "Yes! Yes! I am not the Maiden of the Light! We should get going now, Mr Celestial Knight! It's getting late!"

What's with him? Was he in love with some legendary figure? Usagi knew she wasn't as beautiful as the Maiden of the Light, if such girl even existed, but that didn't give him the right to teased her over the way she looked. Usagi was trying to suppress her anger when she heard Seiya calling her from behind.

"Hey, Odango…"

"What?!" Usagi responded in an annoyed tone, her back still facing him.

"The Dark Lord and the Maiden of the Light… Do you think they will ever be together again?" Seiya asked in a relatively sad voice.

A gust of wind blew passed them as the couple stood their silently.

"I hope they do…" Seiya admitted softly.

Turning back slowly, she met his dazzlingly dim-blue eyes and his gentle smile.

"Hai(Yes) Hai… time to get going… don't just stand there…" Seiya urged, walking past her.

As she watched his back slowly drifting away from her, Usagi could feel a strange flash of loneliness followed by a voice calling out to him from her thought.

"_Don't, don't go Dark!"_

"Don't…"

Without thinking, she extended her hand out and grabbed him by his arm.

Seiya turned around and faced her, taken aback by her action.

"You told me that it's dangerous to be by myself…" she explained shyly without looking up at him.

Seiya smiled to himself before locking her hand into his, "It's alright. I'll protect you."

Those words immediately lightened her. It was as if he had cast some magic into them. For the first time, she felt safe and protected, as if nothing in the world can ever get in between them or hurt her with him around.

But, little did Usagi know, an enemy was hidden in a distance, "Finally, I have found you, Celestial Knight."

--


	6. The Hundred Days Countdown

--

**The Hundred Days Countdown**

**-**

"Honestly, we know nothing about Seiya's past. All these years, he never mentioned much about it… All I could tell you is that there's some connection between the Doom-will and him. Though I am not sure how exactly are they related, I believe it has something to do with his previous memories…" Taiki explained.

"Exactly hundred days…" the girl had her face faced down continued. "Hundred days from now, the Hell Gate will open as the Dark Lord awakes. Lady Travel will be by the entrance waiting for the return of the Hell king." Her voice deepened as they felt a powerful energy being channelled throughout the room.

"The Doom-will still stands at the place the lord once left it. For a thousand years, it took over its master's position to rule hell. Countless souls vanished over the centuries trying to conquer it." The girl walked over to Taiki and presented him a dull-silvery hand-sized plate. The four-sided plate had weird symbols and design on it. At the central of it, was a mark that looked like an hourglass.

"Take this and present it to Lady Travel. It's one of the token to enter hell alive. You can find her in Mystic Overlook, straight east from here." As the girl proceeded for the exit, she paused and with a half-tilled face added, "Tell the Celestial Knight that the Doom-will is a sword that chooses its master. Those who fail will have their souls forever trap in Tartarus, vanish from existence… And, by far, it only acknowledged the Dark Lord."

"Wait! Why are you helping us? At least let us know… Who are you, exactly?" Taiki asked quickly.

The girl just smiled back at him, "My name is Ami Mizuno, I'm just your friendly librarian in Kinmoku."

-

* * *

-

"USAGI!! USAGI!! You had me worried!!" King Tsukino cried as he hugged the princess.

"Father… I am fine…and can we go in now?"

"I apologize for taking the princess out without previous notice, sir." Seiya apologized.

"You do not have to apologize, Celestial Knight. I know my daughter will be safe with you… But as a father, I just can't help but worry for her… Oh! We should be heading back in now. I don't want anyone of you to catch a cold for staying too long in the open.

"Please go ahead without me… I have some business to deal with…" Seiya responded.

"Business? Do you need any help with it? I can lend a few men to you if you…"

"Not a problem sir. It won't take long either." Seiya replied with assurance.

"Seiya…"

Usagi could not help but look a little distress; obviously, she didn't want to go back in without him.

"Don't worry princess, I promise to be back real soon." Seiya gave her a convincing smile.

"_It strange… His words always seem to lighten my heart_." Usagi thought and nodded with a smile.

As Seiya stood in the open watching them headed back, he let out a grin.

"Hey..." he called out. "How long are you planning to keep hiding?"

--

* * *

--

"Can I speak with you for a second, Usagi?" Kakyuu asked in a mono-tone voice after their father had left.

"Sure. What is it regarding, Kakyuu?" Usagi asked, trying her best not to sound awkward.

"I see… You just want to talk to your dear Celestial Knight right?" Kakyuu stared fiercely at Usagi.

"Kakyuu? What do you mean…"

But before Usagi could continue further, Kakyuu stormed at her, pushing her down to the ground.

"Why are you always standing in my way?! You! You are not even Father's real child… I am! I am! An abandoned child like you have no right to take away WHAT'S MEANT TO BE MINE!!" Kakyuu shouted and reached her hand for Usagi's neck, straggling her.

"Kakyuu…" Usagi choked out and struggled weakly.

"Do you remember Mamoru Chiba? When we were much younger, we used to play together. Yes! He was my first love then! Bu-but … you! You stole him! He rejected me! He told me that he was in love with someone else… And guess what? That person was none other than YOU!! YOU!! Why?! You didn't even talk to him much!! And he loves you?! All this years, I have been overshadowed by you! Every man who came took no interest in me after seeing you… That's not fair… NOT FAIR AT ALL! And now, even the Celestial Knight has fallen into your evil spell! BUT I will not let you have him! He is MINE! I swear it when I first set my eyes on him! MINE YOU HEAR ME?!" She tightened her grip.

"Help… help me…" Usagi tried screaming out and for some reasons her mind kept flashing images of a particular person; the one whom she thought would come rescue her.

"_Seiya…"_

"Get away from her!" A cold voice ordered, and Kakyuu could feel a sharp-pointed object behind her neck. "I will not hesitate to freeze you if continue with the assault."

Threatened, Kakyuu reluctantly released Usagi.

"Ami-chan…"

Usagi was more than surprise when she realized the person who saved her was not Seiya but her palace's chief librarian.

"Are you alright, Princess?" Ami reached for the Usagi and aided her up.

"You! How dare you threaten to kill me? Do you know who I am? I am the princess of Kinmoku… Apologize to me immediately or I will have Father to behead you!" Kakyuu screamed angrily.

Not wanting Ami to get into trouble, Usagi tried to persuade Kakyuu from any charges against her friend. Ami raised her arm, a signal to stop Usagi from continuing. She then confidently took a few steps closer towards Kakyuu and whispered into her ear,

"Do you know the secret behind the Queen of Time Keepers?"

There was a sudden pause of coldness as she continued, "That is… She only takes orders from The Dark Lord."

Immediately after she spoke those words, Kakyuu lost conscious and fell onto the ground.

Usagi hurried to over to Kakyuu. "Kakyuu! Kakyuu… are you alright?"

"Don't worry, princess. She's just asleep… she will awake shortly… without remembering anything that had just happened." Ami told her calmly.

"But… but… how?" Usagi was in shock, still unable o absorb the situation she was caught in.

"Princess… Please ask no further. As I've predicted, you can't avoid destiny."

--

* * *

--

"It looks like I have underestimated you, Celestial Knight." Saphir commented as he revealed himself from behind Seiya. "When did you sense my presence?"

"Ever since you found me… Though your energy is weak, which I would normally ignore… it was really irritating. Thanks to you, I could not fully enjoy my date." Seiya replied in an annoyed tone.

"Who are you calling weak!?" the navy-blue headed man exclaimed.

"You." The reply came from behind.

Saphir was dumbfounded, feeling a sharp deadly blade near his neck. Seiya was now standing behind him, with his sword across his collar.

"_When… When did he get behind me? He was in front of me a second ago_

"You are a waste of my time. It must be sad being a weak half-demon. Shall I end your misery for you?" Seiya asked coldly, his words bringing a chill of death into Saphir's soul.

When he thought everything had come to an end, the black blade unexpectedly back away as someone cast a fire blast at Seiya in the attempt to save Saphir. But Seiya conveniently dodged it as though he had predicted it coming.

"Stand back up, Saphir!" Rebeus, who rescued him, yelled back.

"A level three fire blast…? Even Yaten could master it at the age of twelve. Seriously, you two are not even worth my time killing." Seiya commented in displease as he stared sternly into Saphir's eyes. "Hey, half-demon… I will spare your life this time, but the next time we meet, I will not hesitate to take away your worthless life."

Saphir and Rubeus were traumatized as they could not overcome the chilly feeling of death when they looked into his eyes of coldness.

It was as though they had come face to face with the Dark Lord himself…

--


	7. The Never to be Couple

--

**The Never to be Couple**

--

"YO-YOU WHAT?!" Yaten yelled at the top of his voice.

"Jeez… You don't have to shout…" Seiya stated while covering his right ear with his finger.

"You allow two demons to escape and you expect me not to make a fuss about it?!"

"Well… It's not as if they are worthy opponents… and I didn't want to dirty the place where Odango grew up in… You can never understand my feeling for acting considerate as a guest and conserving the environment at the same time." Seiya tried explaining in an innocent act.

"At least come up with a better excuse! You are the last person on earth that will really care for the environment!" Yaten was jumping vigorously with anger while Taiki tried calming him down.

Taiki let out a gentle chuckle, "To think that the ruthless celestial knight would show mercy… Looks like he have found something really important…"

"Hey Seiya… The Doom-will… we are still going for it right?" Yaten asked, his voice softening.

"Ya…" Seiya answered shortly his eyes locked on the floor as if he was feeling reluctant to leave.

"Princess Usagi… You love her, don't you? This is the first time I've seen you with such expression… are you sure about leaving her?"

Taiki was concerned about Seiya current situation. He always wanted his saviour to find his true happiness, but he knew that it will never happen if Seiya could not reassure his past.

"Love? I do not understand this word at all. She will only get herself into danger by being with me… It's better for her to stay the way she is now." Seiya claimed while staring blankly into the air, his voice shown calmness with a little grief.

"Hey… It's not like you to feel gloomy…" Yaten was indirectly trying to cheer him up.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang from the door. It was swung opened hastily. At the entrance stood Usagi, her expression was anxious and overwhelmed with concern.

"Fa-Father told me that you will be leaving tomorrow… Is that true?!" Usagi exclaimed while staring astonishingly at Seiya

Yaten and Taiki thoughtfully head for the exit, leaving the couple alone.

Seiya smiled at Usagi; the hidden smile that he had shown no one not even himself. "Ya… It's kind of urgent and we are short of time. So we will be departing by dawn tomorrow."

"How long… How long will it take? Will you be back?" Usagi asked, her voice softened with sadness.

Seiya was a little surprise with her question. "Most probably not…"

"Why… Why not?!" Usagi was holding back her tears.

"Odango…" He walked over to her and placed his hand gently onto her rosy cheek. "You and I… We live a completely different life… I am someone who remembers nothing about the past, or know anything about sympathy."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

Seiya paused for a second as he stared at her in the eyes. "Usagi, unlike you, I'm inhuman. Besides my name, I can only recall killings and the smell of blood. The first family who took me in was the last… They were kind-hearted travellers, who had bright smiles, they accepted me without questioning my past… nice people indeed… Till that night… a group of cursed-gnomes came. Hungered for flesh, they intended to consume the family. Then, I found myself in absolute darkness, and when I finally came to my sense… I was covered with blood. The surrounding around me was filled with the gory smell and remains of the dead gnomes… And there they sat, trembling and holding on to each other… Their eyes were filled with terror and those bright smiles were no longer seen… 'Monster' was what I heard them said. Yes… I was… I used these hands and killed every single one of them." He looked at his hand with displeased eyes. "Before I knew it, I have slain countless…"

Walking past the speechless Usagi, he added. "The reason why they called me the Celestial Knight was not because I am a good being but because I had eliminated so much living that I was thought to be out of this world. This nightmare eyes and blood-strained hands that I have are not of any human, creatures or demons. You see, we are not the same. We are not meant to see each other again…"

"No… No! How could you call such lovely, gentle, beautiful eyes nightmare? Those so-called blood-stained hands were hands that gave me secure and comfort…!" Usagi cried.

She was feeling a complex emotion of disbelief, sadness and anger. Her heart could not allow others to classify him as a monster or an outcast. Cause to her… he was… he was…

"If you had witnessed me kill, you will regret saying all this"

But before he could protest further, he felt two small and fragile hands wrapped around his waist. Even though they seemed really tiny and delicate, his body was strangely locked inside them, unable to escape.

"It's strange…This feeling, this scene…" Usagi added, her voice was surprisingly steady and angelic despite her cries. "I believe I have seen this before… In a battlefield filled with decaying body and rotten smell, stood an angel with dark black wings… His beautiful night-blue eyes, those long black hairs… was that you who stood there…?"

Seiya could not understand but recalled the similar scene. It was like looking from the first-person point of view. Below the dark-bleach sky were dead unrecognized corpses giving off gruesome smell of blood and decaying.

"_This is how it should be…" _He thought.

But then, he smelt a completely different scent; the fragrance magically overshadowed those dreadful smells. It was pleasant, sweet yet light and comforting. From afar, among the sandy mist a light gradually emerged. It was so welcoming and warm…

He saw himself walking towards it…

Then, everything was interrupted by a sudden harsh opening of the door.

"Seiya! We got a prob…. Ahhhhh!" There was an awkward pause as Yaten stared at Seiya with Usagi hugging him from behind.

"I'm sorry for interrupting!" Yaten bowed with an apology and immediately closed the door.

--

* * *

--

All guards were called forth by King Tsukino to the palace hall. Screams and orders were heard throughout the palace as the guards tried to protect the king and princess Kakyuu from the abrupt invasion. Green and distorted looking monsters were attacking the palace guards and knights. Rei and Makoto were ordered to shield off any monsters from touching Kakyuu. The whole palace hall was chaotic.

Taiki was in the front line, as he swung his big, translucent blade, it magically gave off gushes of sharp wind that slice through the monsters bodies. All the monsters were taken aback after witnessing the power the blade had.

"That's… That sword… it's the legendary 'Swift-wind'!" one of the monster exclaimed while trembling in fear. This made some of them taking a few steps back.

"Do not be afraid! Can't you remember that I can recuperate you? Slay them! Take the Celestial Knight head and avenge all those that were killed by him!" A woman with long wavy emerald hair ordered as she pointed her staff at Taiki.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I am not the Celestial Knight." Taiki smiled faintly.

"Do not lie to me! They said that the Celestial Knight is a good-looking, long-haired guy who owes a powerful sword!" the woman yelled back in disbelief.

"I feel really honoured. Though I must admit that I am good-looking and owned a powerful sword, but still, I do not hold the privileges for the title." Taiki replied.

"Yes! He is not the Celestial Knight…" Yaten spoke out from a corner.

"Then… You must be the Celestial Knight!" the woman pointed at Yaten.

"Do I look like an idiot to you!" Yaten yelled before someone smacked his head from behind.

"Hey… hey… at least get your information right before invading into others properties…" Seiya stated aloud as he made his appearance.

Taiki lets out a whistle. "Wooee.. The main character is here."

The woman was stunned, "Such… such striking yet deadly-cold eyes… You are no doubt the true Celestial Knight!"

"His eyes are not deadly-cold!!" Usagi yelled. She was hiding behind Seiya while holding onto his bottom sleeve.

Seiya patted her on the head before turning to Yaten, "Hey Yaten, protect Odango along with the others out of this place. I will take over from here."

"Hai… Hai… Che… This is not the right way to ask someone for a favour." Yaten grumbled before grabbing Usagi's hand. "Please follow me Princess."

"Wa-wait! I don't want to go… I am not leaving Seiya in a place like this." Usagi protested.

"Odango, listen to me…" Seiya ordered while placing his hands on her shoulders. "I promise you, I will be back out safe."

"Seiya…" Though she trusted his words, she could not help but get worried over his safety.

"Hai… Hai… I will get a room for the both of you after all these." Yaten offered while nudging Usagi to follow him which she reluctantly did.

"I know you are reluctant but don't worry, Seiya had been through much more life threatening situation compared to this. This is a piece of cake for him…" Yaten assured as he led Usagi and bashed every monster that dared to block their path.

"I will not allow anyone to escape alive! No one is leaving this building!" the woman yelled at Yaten as he tried to gather everyone out safely.

"Lady…" Yaten stopped his step and glared at the woman with a stern expression. "Do not be mistaken. If it wasn't for our idiotic leader, we would have ended you the very moment you stepped in."

His tone brought an icy-chill down everyone's spines as the woman stood traumatized.

"Hey… hey… Yaten, take back your killing instinct, will you? You are scaring everyone here." Seiya grinned as he leaned against the wall with his arms folded.

"Seiya, Taiki… make sure you finish them within a minute or I will not hesitate to come back in and clear all these trashes." Yaten stated in a cold tone.

"A minute?" Taiki giggled softly. "Are you underestimating us? We can finish this in less than thirty seconds."

"I don't even need you here, Taiki." Seiya added calmly.

"I have been burying myself with too much books lately, a nice short exercise will do me good." Taiki replied while slicing two monsters conveniently.

With it, Yaten closed the big heavy door behind him after everyone had gathered outside.

"Are you sure they will be fine?" King Tsukino asked with a worried expression.

"Precisely! There's like a hundred of them in there!" Rei exclaimed.

"Che… only a hundred…" Yaten replied simply and left everyone dumbfounded.

Usagi closed her eyes and held her hands close to her chest. She understood the reason for Seiya wanting everyone to stay out, especially her. He did not want her to witness him killing, but couldn't he understand that she was worried for him.

All of the sudden, a powerful burst of energy came blazing through the palace gate before three men walked in with a troop of armed soldiers behind them.

The man in the middle spoke, "I am Prince Demand. Here to claim the head of the Celestial Knight."

--


	8. She's Everyones Treasure

**--**

**She's Everyone's Treasure**

**--**

"Great! What now?" Yaten grumbled, feeling the heat of frustration since it had passed his usual bedtime, "Why does everyone like to choose the night to come attacking?"

"I am the King of Kinmoku. What business do you have for coming here?" King Tsukino asked, trying his hardest to stay calm.

"Like I've mention, I am here to meet the Celestial Knight and if he does not cooperate with us, I will not hesitate to take his head." Prince Demand replied.

"Whatever. If you are looking for Seiya, he's inside with Taiki killing some trashes. He will be out any second now." Yaten replied in an unbothered tone.

Right after his speech, the palace door flung opened violently as the green-haired woman was being thrown out.

"Esmeraude!" the three men exclaimed at the same time.

"Rubeus, Saphir and… Demand-sama…" She called out in a weak voice as she looked at them from below.

"I believe she belongs to you…" Taiki guessed, stepping out to the open.

"Where is Seiya?!" Usagi asked eagerly.

She could no longer stand in the open and wait as she ran up the stairs and into the palace without waiting for Taiki's reply. This caught Prince Demand's attention as he turned to face Usagi, watching her disappeared into the palace.

He stood there, frozen with shock for a second as he murmured, "This can't be true… She's… She's… "

--

Inside, Seiya was standing in the middle of brutally sliced corpses with his face down. When he finally looked up, he was shocked to find Usagi at the entrance, her eyes showing obvious fear. It wasn't a pleasant scene as they stood staring speechlessly at each other.

"_Her looks…"_ Seiya thought to himself, his eyes saddening. _"It's only natural… She's afraid of me…"_

He turned away, not wanting Usagi to witness him in such an insightful state.

But, to his surprise, he heard light footsteps running towards him before someone embraced him from behind.

"Baka! Baka(Stupid)! Seiya… Baka... Baka…" Usagi cried, clinging dearly onto him.

For a second, Seiya just listened to her cries, too stunned for words. Why was she hugging him? Shouldn't she fear him? She should, since everyone else did. Not even in his wildest dream have he expected her to be speaking to him after witnessing his brutality, let alone hugging him.

"Yo-you are not scared of me?" Seiya asked in a murmur, his voice filled with shock.

"I'm scared… I'm so scared… I thought you were hurt or dead! Baka! Baka! Seiya!" Usagi cried louder.

He could feel her body trembled out of excessive concern as she cried.

So, she wasn't afraid of him, but was worried for his safety all these time? Seiya smiled to himself and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back. He could feel a completely new emotion emerging from within. It was warm and sweet yet memorably blissful.

Was it love?

--

* * *

--

"Why are you here, Esmeraude?" Rubeus asked as he aided her up to her feet.

"Demand-sama was displeased with you and Saphir for failing in pursuing the Celestial Knight… I came to help… I wanted Demand-sama to be happy… but they! They are demons!" Esmeraude pointed at Yaten.

"You are obviously pointing at the wrong person! I've not done anything yet!" Yaten yelled back in frustration.

Ignoring Esmeraude, Prince Demand questioned the crowd. "The Maiden… The Maiden of the Light, why is she here?! It's not possible…"

Sensing that Prince Demand was intending to enter the palace, Taiki leaped hastily to his front, blocking his path.

"I do not know what you are up to… but I am not letting you get near Seiya." Taiki told him firmly.

"You better step out of this, boy… if you want to live a longer life." Prince Demand warned Taiki.

"That's a big talk from a mere illusion." A solemn sounding voice stated.

Seiya stepped out into the open while carrying Usagi in his arms. Now, everyone had their eyes set at the couple except for Yaten who was too sleepy to be bothered by what was happening.

"I heard you came for my head… I say, what can an under-levelled fire mage, a half-demon, a poorly trained summoner and an illusion with a troop of worthless bodyguards do?" Seiya asked arrogantly.

But to everyone surprise, Prince Demand remained silent at the challenge. Seiya glared back at him, noticing that he was eyeing on Usagi the whole time. Displeased, he deliberately lifted Usagi closer till she had her face touching his.

Prince Demand was incensed when he saw Seiya carrying Usagi in such dearly close manner. "Who do you think you are to be touching the precious Maiden of the Light like that?!"

His outrageous proclaim brought everyone staring back and forth at each other in confusion.

"You've got your information messed up. She is my daughter, Princess Usagi, and not the maiden that you had just mentioned." King Tsukino claimed.

"Lies! You are just trying to protect her. Maiden, do you not recognize me?" Prince Demand asked, looking up at Usagi.

"I… I am not the maiden… and I don't know you…" Usagi replied, shaking her head.

Prince Demand was in disbelief as he extended his finger out to Seiya, "It must be him! He did some hypnotizing spell to you and had you forget everything!"

Prince Demand subordinates were dumbfounded by their leader actions as they tried to get his attention back to them. "Prince Demand-sama, please do not get distracted. We came here with a plan to accomplish."

"Plan? There's nothing more important to me than the maiden." Prince Demand yelled back with intensity in his voice.

"What are you saying?! Demand-sama…" Esmeraude asked in shock.

"Yes! What about the Doom-will?! Demand-sama, after a hundred years of searching… we can't give it up for a girl!" Rubues stated loudly.

"Do you not know why I wanted to be the King of Hell?" Prince Demand asked, pausing for a second before continuing, "It's all for the maiden. The very first time I set my eyes on her, I wanted her… And when I heard that she was in love with The Dark Lord and even gave her life for him, I swore that I will be the next Hell King… The reason I had been going through all these for a thousand years, is all because of her! And to tell me that the Maiden is now with the Celestial Knight! I will never accept it!"

His confession brought his subordinates into shocking silent.

Seiya smirked. "Whether Odango is the maiden or not, she is MINE. As well as the Doom-will. You better accept this fact, illusion."

Usagi was blushing rapidly after hearing Seiya's proclaim.

"_He said I'm his, he said I'm his…"_ were the only words that were circling in her mind right now.

King Tsukino almost fainted from shock.

Princess Kakyuu was clutching her fists as she once again felt her jealousy and raged rising inside her.

Taiki chuckled at the Seiya's arrogance.

Yaten sat asleep in a corner.

The rest of the people had there mouths wide-opened.

"No! The maiden is MINE!" Prince Demand retorted in rage.

Planning to take Usagi on the spot, Prince Demand charged an attack at the couple. Seiya dodged it with a step, and summoned his sword, pointing it a few inches away from Prince Demand's face.

"The Dark-Terror…" Prince Demand murmured out the name of Seiya's blade in shock. "Why? Kill my illusion… Do you think I will be silly enough to appear if this would kill the real me?!"

"This, I know… But, I have no intention to hurt even an illusion in front of Odango." Seiya backed down his weapon.

"Seiya…" Usagi blushed at his consideration before turning over to Prince Demand and pleaded in a soft voice. "Will you please leave now? Please do not hurt my family and friends…"

"Maiden…" Prince Demand looked back at her with a gentle expression. "I will definitely make you mine…"

He finished, raising his hand as a signal for his troop to retreat as his illusion fainted away.

-

* * *

-

After everyone had settled down from the whole commotion, King Tsukino requested to discuss an important issue with Seiya alone privately.

"I am really thankful to have you protecting us earlier." King Tsukino started.

"No, I should be apologizing for bringing in this much trouble to your kingdom." Seiya apologized.

"It's not like you wanted it. I know from the start that this day will come… but after all that had happened… I'm worried for Usagi's safety." The King stated in distress.

"Will you entrust your daughter me? This may sound selfish… and I know for her to be with me… it may even get her into a greater danger, but, even so… I can never allow anyone to have her like that." Seiya admitted, sounding a little possessive.

"Selfish? A man like me who had her locked up for more than ten years has no right to point this word out on others. I am the selfish one… All this while, I did not want her to see the world, to be away from me… Do you know, Usagi was my savior…?"

The day the queen passed away almost ended King Tsukino's life. His grief had taken over his senses. He abandoned his duty and his daughter. As he drank his way below a full moon, he caught a glimpse of shimmering light. Following it by instinct, he stumbled his way through the thick forest and what lay at the edge of it woke him up.

There sat a little girl probably at the age of six, with long golden hair, looking up at him with her sparkling blue eyes.

"Mr, why do you look so sad?" She asked innocently

He could not or do not know how to reply her. She reached out her hand to him, "She will be happy to see your smile."

Those words struck him. He finally recalled the promise he had made with his wife. Not only must he be a good king, but a better father and husband, to never frown and give up. The little girl smiled at him as he reached for her extended hand.

"She's a miracle, isn't she? I've always believed she was given to me by god… But, it's a gift whereby I had to return. All these years, no matter how hard I tried, I could not give her true happiness… I knew from the very beginning that she does not belong here, but I was selfish… and I hid the fact… Finally, the time has come for me to let her go, my most precious treasure." King Tsukino was filled with despair as he finally made his decision.

--


	9. The Beginning of a New Journey

**--**

**The Beginning of a New Journey**

**--**

Usagi stared at the falling pink petals, her mind flashing back to the tearing moment of departure with her love ones. Rei and Makoto were embracing her tightly as they promised while she was gone they would continue protecting the king. Her father could not hold back his tears and was crying like a child losing his mother. Hugging him, she gave her word of return and that they would be together again. Kakyuu did not turn up to see her off. Usagi regretted not being able to inform Ami since everything came too quickly. As a gust of wind brushed past her face, she made a prayer for the people back home.

She gazed at the peaceful Seiya. He was holding her hand as he sat, leaning against the big trunk, peacefully asleep. He had not been given any rest after all that had happened the day before. They were alone under a big pink tree. Seiya wanted to have a little time alone with her, thus they left early without Taiki and Yaten. She smiled at his face of serenity. It was as if she was looking at a peaceful, beautified painting coming to life. She reached for the pink petal that had landed itself onto his hair. Unintentionally touching his strands, she let her fingers run through them.

"_They are so soft and fine…" _

All of a sudden, his hand grabbed hers gently. "How may I serve you, my princess?"

Meeting him in the eyes, Usagi was blushing feverishly as she tried to avoid his stare, "Gomen(Sorry)… did I wake you up?"

"How can I possibly sleep if my princess is still awake?" He stated and pulled her gently into his arms.

His chest, Usagi realized, felt really warm and secure. "Can I rest like this…?"

He nodded and placed his lips lightly onto her forehead, "As you wish, my princess."

There they sat, close to each other with smiles of happiness and blissfulness. That view, it really did seem like a mystical priceless painting.

-

* * *

-

"WHAT?! HE SET OFF WITHOUT US?!" Yaten yelled, waking up only to find Seiya.

"You don't have to get so fire up. He told us to meet them at that cherry blossom tree just outside the town. It's not like he had abandoned us or anything…" Taiki tried calming his comrade down.

"Them? As I had expected, he brought along princess Usagi. Che… We might get ourselves into a whole lot more troubles than usual from now on." Yaten sighed, but he was not going to object it since he knew how important Usagi was to Seiya. "We better get going… I am burning up just by the thoughts of that idiot enjoying his time now."

"Will you please wait for me by the entrance? It seems like I have left something behind…"

"That's not like you… well, be quick then."

Seeing Yaten disappearing into the distance, Taiki spoke. "Are you here to see us off, Mizuno-san?"

Ami stepped out from the shadow and smiled, "Like usual, you have pretty sharp senses. Taiki-san."

"Though you hid your presence really well, the aura you gave off is too intense for me not to notice. Besides Seiya, you are the second person I met who carried such strong aura. Like I've suspected, you aren't any ordinary librarian." Taiki concluded while folding his arm.

"I guess I can't trick you then. Talking like this with you now, it really does bring back memories." She claimed locking her eyes into his.

"What do you mean?" Taiki had sensed some familiarity from her ever since their first encounter, but he never understood the reason for it. Somehow, he wanted to know more about this girl.

"You will understand soon…For now, please take care." she turned away.

"Wait!" Taiki called out. "Will we… will we meet again?"

Ami stopped her step. Looking back at Taiki with a smile she replied, "Destiny will tell..."

--

* * *

--

Seiya was awakened by the noise of approaching horses. From the sound of it, he could tell that there were around ten of them approaching toward them.

"_I hope they don't bother us. But, I guess it's unlikely…"_ Seiya sighed at his thought as he eyed on Usagi who was still peacefully asleep in his arms, _"No good, she looks like an angel…"_

As expected, the group of men stopped their horses after noticing the eye-catching couple under the big blossom tree. All the men in the troop were muscularly built and had tattoos on them. While Seiya decided to ignore them, they began to surround the tree.

"We are thieves from the clan Makajiu. If you want to live, hand over all your valuables."

Then all eyes instantly flew to Usagi, "What a rare jewel! Take that woman…! We must have her!"

"Shhh… You guys are really noisy… I will make all of you pay if you wake my angel up." Seiya spoke softly, his eyes still on his sleeping beauty.

"What?! Do you know who we are?! We are the Makajiu's thieves! The clan that belongs to the king of thieves, Ail!" one of the man yelled making Usagi stirred a little.

"Hey. You are too loud… "Do you want to die so badly?" Seiya asked in a cold voice, finally glaring at the man who shouted. His chilly stare had the man falling from the horse as the rest took a few steps back.

The one who seemed like the group leader took a step forward, "Hey kid, if you just hand the girl over, we will spare your life."

"Hand her over? All of you can just go to hell."

The troop heard a low growl before they felt an impacting force of energy being release. The force was so unpleasant that their bodies felt extremely pressurized. The horses were feeling uneasy and some even thrown their riders off and galloped away.

"What is this?!" the leader exclaimed in fear. Looking back at Seiya, he found himself frozen with terror as he realized that he had came face to face with something demonic.

"You better plead him to spare your life." a voice from behind suggested.

"I knew it! With her around, we will get involve with more unnecessary trouble. Though I never thought it will be this soon… Come on! We just stepped out of the town." Ignoring the group of thieves, Yaten and Taiki dismounted and walked towards the seated couple.

"Amazing! She's still asleep despite all this noise and crashing energy?" Taiki whispered in amazement.

"I can't believe your power isn't affecting her at all…Who exactly is she?" Yaten bending over for a better view added, "But, she really does look kind of cute…"

"Hey! She's mine!" Seiya exclaimed and held Usagi closer, like a child trying to protect his precious toy from being snatched away by his friend.

"I have no intention to take her!" Yaten folded his arms and looked away.

"Take what…" Usagi murmured and rubbed her eyes in an attempt to open them.

"Is it time for breakfast?" she blinked a few times before finally coming to her sense, "Eh?"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Seiya shook his head while chuckling, "At last, the sleeping beauty is awake."

"What so funny?" Usagi cocked her head lightly to the side, not understanding why her friends were laughing at.

Seiya simply patted her head and smiled, "You are such a joy…"

She blushed slightly at his comment. This happened whenever Seiya complimented her. Since Seiya had his dark presence drawn back, the thieves were freed from it.

Pointing at the escaping group of men, Usagi asked "Who are they?"

"Oh… they are Yaten's friends." Seiya replied with a smile.

"Ehhh?! I don't have such weak…" Taiki nudged Yaten as a signal to go with the lies, so as to not to scare Usagi.

"Ya… Ya… they are my friends." Yaten followed reluctantly.

"You are really popular, Yaten-san." Usagi smiled at him.

Yaten blushed slightly, "Ya… I guess…"

For some unknown reason, he felt a little embarrassed. "How… How long do you guys intend to stay here?! We better start our journey now."

"Hai… Hai…"

--

* * *

--

Somewhere between heaven and hell, there was a place whereby most demons and 'immortals' gathered. It was the home for demons that were not powerful enough to be accepted in hell and immortals that had fallen from heaven. This place was known as 'The Dark Kingdom'.

"Have you found the way into Hell yet?" asked the woman with blood red hair.

"We are really sorry, Queen Beryl. We still could not locate The Hell Breaker, Goddess of Travel." a lady with long pink hair kneeled before her queen replied.

"Black Lady, you should know that we do not have much time left till The Dark Lord awakes. I will not allow the maiden to have him again!" Queen Beryl crashing her glass of wine demanded. "I will… I will be the Queen of Hell! And after I do, every one of you shall be accepted into the underworld!"

All her fellow followers saluted and cheered words of support after she had finished her speech.

A man wearing specs came forth and made a declaration. "I have got the latest information regarding some key pieces that may allow us to travel into hell alive, without the need to obtain the key from the Hell Breaker, Pluto."

"Continue, Tomoe." Queen Beryl instructed, sitting back down.

"Have you heard of the five sacred generals of hell?"

"You mean the five highly-ranked gods that turned against heaven a thousand years ago, and chose to fight by The Dark Lord's side?"

"Yes, my highness. Namely, Father Sky, The God of the Moon, Priestess of time, Master of the wind and Mother Earth, they hold the key pieces that allow entrance to hell."

"But, the five generals are said to have followed their lord to lay at rest, till their king rise again."

"True, it was said that they will all be awaken, when the dark lord rise but… the true meaning behind 'at rest' is actually… Rebirth. To make things clearer, it was believed that some of them had actually chosen to reincarnate in order to pass those thousand years of waiting."

"This is getting interesting… You are saying that they are immobilized human now?" Queen Beryl asked with a smirk.

"Yes, your highness. That is, before the dark lord awakes…" he pointed out, "Since they have not regained their memories or powers back yet, if we could get our hands on any of them, we may be able to obtain a key piece to enter hell and be a step closer into achieving our goal."

"Hahaha! This sounds marvellous! Have you found any of the generals yet?" her evil laughter was heard echoing throughout the room.

"Yes, my highness. I will be able to get a brief location and identity of Father Sky soon."

"Tomoe, you have done me proud. I believe it won't be long before you are able to surpass your father, the God of Wisdom, Wiseman."

"Thank you, my queen. My father is currently searching for the key pieces too… but I will find them before he does." He proclaimed with a grin of confident.

"Very well then, do not fail me, Tomoe!" she commanded.

"Yes! Your Highness…" he saluted to her once more before leaving.

Queen Beryl narrowed her smile, "Hmmm… This is getting good. Father Sky, Uranus… Your key piece will be mine!"

--


	10. A Crowded Night

--

**A Crowded Night**

**--**

"This is so fun!! I've never been on such a fast horse before!!" Usagi shouted excitedly. She was on the same horseback with Seiya, as he activated his horse into galloped mode. To everyone amazement, she wasn't afraid of Death Chaser's hasty speed, but rather, she was enjoying it.

"Che… Who will believe that the self-centered demonic horse, Death Chaser will allow Usagi to ride on him?" Yaten stated while urging his horse to closer it's distance with Seiya's.

"Hey… hey! Who give you the permission to call Odango by her first name?" Seiya demanded.

"Its fine, Seiya! We will be travelling together from now on… Besides! We will be a lot closer this way! And I love Death Chaser!" Usagi exclaimed happily as she bent down and hugged the horse on his neck.

"Be careful…" Seiya wrapped his hand around her waist gently as a support making Usagi blushed at his embrace.

"Don't worry! Death Chaser will not let her fall especially since he is just as perverted as his master." Yaten spoke provokingly.

Seiya and Death Chaser both glared fiercely at Yaten from the corner of their eyes.

"I will send you straight to hell." Seiya sent a death message to Yaten.

"That is if you can…" Yaten replied with a grin.

Usagi started giggling, "The both of you seem so close…"

"WE ARE NOT CLOSE AT ALL!" Seiya and Yaten shouted back.

"But… but… it really does seem so…" she responded it in a puppy-like manner.

This made the both of them turned awkwardly quiet.

Taiki burst out into laughter, "You are really incredible, Usagi-san… You didn't even use any effort and yet got them to shut up? It's not something that can be achieved easily… this is hilarious!"

"IT"S NOTHING FUNNY!" the two boys yelled back at him agitatedly.

Calming down for a bit, Taiki continued while studying the map, "We will be reaching a city soon. Let's see… Kenyomi City, the City of Trade. Right, I presume it's a pretty big and busy place. We could upload some goods from there then."

"That means, we are going shopping?!" her eyes sparkled with excitement.

"I guess, you can say that…" Taiki replied with a smile.

"Yeah! Yeah! Shopping!" She raised her hands up in enthusiasm as she shouted out, almost losing her balance.

Seiya grabbed Usagi by the waist again and making her blush for the second time, "You are not going anywhere without me…"

"I think she will be safer with me…" Yaten grinned.

"Cause you make a good guard dog?" Seiya argued calmly.

"Can you two not start your daily conflict yet? We are about to reach the city." Taiki letting out a sigh announced.

Truly, from the mountain's view, Usagi caught a glimpse of a city surrounded by huge ships and boats. They slowed their horses' paces as they got closer to the city.

-

* * *

-

"This is such a crowded place." Seiya frowned. They had difficulties walking their horses as they tried looking for an inn or rest house to settle down for the night. People were pushing, shouting, some were running and many had their stores set up in the middle of walkway. Usagi did not like it at all, as she leaned closer to Seiya.

It took them almost an hour to locate an inn. And when they finally had their belongings settled in, Taiki tried convincing Yaten to help with the uploading of supplies for their travel. "It crazily filled with people outside! I am definitely not going anywhere tonight!" Yaten objected.

"Look on the bright side, Yaten. With this many people, no one will actually notice us. Therefore, we won't have to run away from pursuers." Taiki explained intelligently.

"Why is it always us?! Why not him?!" Yaten pointed at Seiya.

"I am Usagi's personal bodyguard." Seiya proclaimed in an honoured manner.

"Don't decide everything on your own!" Yaten yelled at Seiya.

Taiki sighed in distress, "The last thing I would ever want to do is to ask Seiya for assist when it comes to chores like this… I will never forget the first time I had him to help…"

"Ummm…" Usagi voiced out. "I can help with the shopping if it's such a bother to everyone."

Seiya placed his hands on Yaten shoulders. "Are you seriously going to let such a lovely girl like Odango to do the work for you?"

"Che… You don't have to go, Usagi… I can handle it." Yaten told her before looking agitatedly back at Seiya and adding, "And, takes your hands off me!"

"Are you sure you don't need my help?" Usagi asked.

"Yes, yes… just be a good girl and stay with Seiya till we get back." Taiki replied with a smile.

After they had left, Usagi looked out of the window. Sensing her discomfort, Seiya hugged her tenderly from behind, "There's something you want out there?"

"Ho-How did you know?" she asked with a blush.

"It's a secret…" He replied back teasingly before grabbing by the hand and leading her to the door, "Let's go! But do not leave my side alright?"

Usagi smiled back at him as they made their way out of the building.

-

* * *

-

"What?! You bunch of idiots!" a male demon with long light-blue hair yelled. "I sent twenty of you to have him captured! And none of you idiots can handle a simple brat like him?!"

"We are so sorry, Ail-sama! Please spare us, Ali-sama!" the group of men were banging their heads against the floor as they pleaded for forgiveness.

"Ail… You don't have to get angry over such worthless beings like them." the female demon with long pink hair appeared from behind said.

"Ann-sama!" the men turned back and shrieked in fear.

"You lousy human are no use to us! Die!" Right after her speech, the ground surrounding them began shaking recklessly as a huge flower-like plant emerged from the ground. It consumed all the twenty men in the front row before withdrawing back down. All the remaining men who had witnessed it shook in fear.

"Listen up!" Ann called out to those at the back. "If you human don't want to suffer the same fate as them, bring back Haruka Tenoh without fail!"

"Hai… Hai!" they replied in terror as they stumbled out.

"Really… human are just so weak…" Ail sat back down with a sigh.

"Ail… why not we settle him by ourselves? Highly-trained demons like us could take the form of any human easily… Neh? Won't it be better if we avenge our dead comrades with our own hands?" Ann wrapping her hands around his neck spoke.

Ail leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips. "He was last seen in Kenyomi City… and may most probably be heading to Artemis Central." He said while twirling her hair with his fingers.

"Then…" she smiled back at him sweetly, "Lets make that place his final resting spot."

-

* * *

-

"Where is it?" Seiya asked while they squeezed their way through a group of on-coming people.

"I remembered seeing a lady who is selling them somewhere here…" Usagi replied as she scanned through the crowded street.

"What is it that you are intending to get?" Seiya was curious as to what had caught her attention into wanting to buy it so badly.

"It's a secret…" she stuck her tongue out teasingly.

"Hey…" Seiya frowned as she was using his words back on him.

Someone bumped into Seiya which caused Usagi's hand to slip away from his. The stranger with his messy bleach blonde hair made a quick glance at Seiya. He mumbled an apology and hastily walked away. Seiya caught a glimpse of his dull blue eyes and felt a strong aura essence around him.

"That guy…" But before he could conclude any further, he realized he had lost sight of Usagi. "Damn it!" he murmured angrily as he forced his way out desperately… "USAGI!!"

--

"Thank you, Miss." the store lady expressed her gratitude. Despite being separated from Seiya, Usagi managed to find the set-up store and bought the item she was looking for. Holding it tightly with both hands, she smiled _"I hope he will like it."_

She looked around the unfamiliar street of people. Now, if only she could find her way back to the inn, she would give the gift to him. But, after several minutes of wandering around the crowd, she found herself back at the same location again.

"Seiya! Where are you?!" Usagi cried in panic.

"Miss! Are you lost?"

Usagi turned around to face the source of the call and saw a group of men looking down at her. Not knowing they were the Makajiu thieves, she answered.

"Yes… Do you know the place around here?"

One of the men asked, "Aren't you with the kid who has long black hair?"

"You know Seiya?" Usagi asked innocently.

"Seiya? Oh… Yes! We are his friends… He's been looking all over for you. Please follow us. We will bring you to him." Another man replied.

"Really? Thank you so much…" Usagi nodded and followed them gladly, thinking that she could finally be united with Seiya.

But after several minutes of walking past couple of street stores, she found herself being brought into a dark enclosed bar.

"We are here…" One of them stated and pushed Usagi roughly into the room.

She let out a soft scream as she fell onto the wooden floor.

Sensing danger, she backed away…

The men were all grinning evilly. She heard them saying randomly,

"Isn't she a beauty?"

"Let's bring her to Ail-sama."

"Ya, that will cheer him up and maybe we might get a promotion."

"Won't that be a waste? We should taste her out first."

"Don't come near me…" Usagi pleaded but she could back no further as they gradually cornered her.

Seeing their hands reaching out to her, she let out a loud shriek.

"SEIYA!!"

-

Author Note: Ail and Ann is also known as Allen and Anne from the SM series.


	11. The Gift

--

**The Gift**

--

"_SEIYA!!"_

All of a sudden, someone broke in from the window that was situated behind Usagi. She opened her eyes and gasped when she realized that Seiya was standing between her and the Makajiu thieves.

"No one touch her…" He declared sternly.

"Seiya…" Usagi breathed his name, still unable to believe that he was indeed here with her.

The Makajiu thieves backed away as Seiya moved in toward them. The atmosphere around the men turned extremely intense and uncomfortable.

"It's… It's this feeling again!" One of man shrieked in fear.

They were all desperate to escape, but for an unknown reason, their body would not cooperate with their minds.

"Do you think I will let you trashes go off unharmed after you had made my angel cry?" Seiya growled at them, his words bringing chill down their spines.

Usagi sat there silently, not knowing how to react. All her body wanted to do now was to hug him tightly but yet she knew it wasn't the time. She saw Seiya turned back and with a smile, he told her, "Odango, please close your eyes…"

She smiled weakly and did as told. It was strange. She felt calm and at ease all over with him around. She knew everything turn out right. Yes, so long as he was with her.

Seconds later, she could hear screams and cries as she sat there with her eyes shut before everything eventually turned quiet. Then, Usagi felt two strong arms wrapping themselves around her. Opening her eyes, she was taken aback to find Seiya hugging her dearly.

"You had me worried…" Seiya admitted softly. "I almost died… Please don't ever do this to me again…"

He let her go a second later and added, "Didn't your father ever taught you not to follow strangers…"

But, he paused in the mid of his sentence when Usagi pulled him back into another tight embrace as she cried. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry… Please don't cry, Seiya! Please don't be upset!"

His eyes widened at her remark. How did she know that he was feeling miserable? To not have her by his side, the feeling was unbearable enough to form tears. He never felt so desperate and worried before, and definitely did not understand why he was feeling such anxiety whenever she wasn't around him.

Wiping her tears with his thumb, he smiled back at her, "Hai… Hai… You are the one who should stop crying…"

Usagi nodded before asking softly, "How did you find me?"

"That's because you called my name." Seiya replied sweetly. "From now on, whenever you called me, I will be there for you."

"Seiya…" Usagi muttered his name unconsciously.

"Yes?" He smiled back at her and it was at that moment when their eyes met with affection.

A spark radiated through their bodies and it acted quickly. They were caught in silence when their lips met for the first time. It was like a dream. He was kissing her, and she was returning the kiss. Usagi sat there flabbergasted as Seiya parted her lips with his tongue. Unlike her, who had never kissed a man before, Seiya was no doubt a good kisser. She didn't know what to do now, at least that what she thought; her body knew what to do just fine.

They soon broke apart for air and Usagi was blushing intensely after everything was over. Since that was her first kiss, she was overly shy about it.

Looking back her deep red face, Seiya couldn't help but laughed softly.

"What so funny!?" Usagi demanded, still unable to control herself from blushing further.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't help it. You are just so cute…" Seiya chuckled.

"No! I am not!" Usagi insisted, her blush deepening.

He shook his head at her before leaning closer to Usagi and whispering into her ear. "You must never show such cute expression to anyone else… You belong to me only…"

His remark had Usagi blushing even more. She covered her face in embarrassment and expressed shyly, "Don't say such things… I will look like an apple soon…"

"I was just stating the truth…" He smiled gently at her before remembering something important. "Now, why don't we leave and get the thing you are looking?"

"I've already got it…" Usagi replied shyly, surprising Seiya for a bit.

But a bigger surprise came a second later when she presented him a white, silky hair tie. "It's… it's for you…"

Seiya was too taken back for words, not believing that Usagi had got herself lost and kidnapped just to get a gift for him.

"I've always love your black long hair. It's so beautiful." Usagi confessed as she reached out for his strands and let her fingers ran through them, making him blushed slightly at her intimacy.

"I like it when you let them down…" She added with her smile and placed her lips on the fine strand, "but… I will love to try tying it up…"

Seiya was the one flushing right now, but Usagi was too busy combing his hair with her fingers to notice his faint blush. She seemed to enjoy grooming him very much as she began collecting his dark strands together and tying them up. When she had finished doing his hair, Seiya held out his new ponytail and admired it.

"It's… its neat…" He commented with a smile.

They smiled back lovingly at each other before a loud shout interrupted their tender moment.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE?!"

The couple turned and saw Yaten and Taiki standing by the door with bags of goods in their hands.

"We sensed your presence on our way back…" Taiki stated while scanning through those unconscious men.

"They are morons trying to capture Odango. I would love to kill them but I did not want to dirty my hands in front of her." Seiya answered their thoughts while helping Usagi up.

"And what happened to your hair? I thought you didn't like tying it up…" Yaten asked with one of his brow up.

"Oh… this?! Odango personally bought it and tied it up for me. You don't have to envy me." Seiya replied in a show-off attitude.

"I AM NOT ENVYING YOU!!" Yaten yelled back at him.

"Can we not grab anymore attention and head back now?" asked Taiki as he noticed a crowd of audience viewing them from outside.

Forcing their way through the curious mass of people, they sensed an unusual presence in the crowd. "Looks, like there is a demon among this people…" Taiki whispered.

"No, not one… two…" Seiya concluded in an unbothered tone.

"It will be troublesome to expose them with these people everywhere…" Yaten added.

"Is there something wrong?" Usagi asked in concern as she felt something had caught her friends' attention.

"Don't worry. It's nothing important." Seiya returned her a comforting smile while holding tightly onto her hand.

"Let's get going…" Taiki urged, as he led them back to the inn.

--

* * *

--

"Who exactly are they?" Ann in her human form asked. "To think they actually could knock our group of minions out…"

"I felt a powerful energy for a moment there… But I could not confirm whether it was either one of them who has it… or it belongs to Haruka." Ail stared blankly, his face deep in thought, he murmured, "But that girl… She's gorgeous."

"What… What did you say?" Ann not catching his last few words asked.

"Oh… no… no… nothing…" Ail coming back to his sense replied.

"Really?" She frowned suspiciously.

"Yes… yes… you don't have to give me such a look…" Ail replied back while looking a little annoyed. "Why don't we follow them? We may be able to get something out from them…"

"Like what?" Ann asked impatiently. "What are you thinking, Ail?! Did you forget our aim is to capture the demon hunter, Haruka Tenoh and to force him to serve under us?"

"If those three are worthy human, we could take them in too… And regarding the plan in capturing Haruka, we will have him as ours sooner or later. He's not a match for us." Ail insisted.

"Fine! Have it your way then!" Ann shouted at him as she exited the room.

--

* * *

--

Tomoe was in a dark, mysterious room filled with chemical bottles and flasks. It looked like a secret laboratory from its appearance. He had kept himself busy with the search of the five sacred generals, while using his chemistry power abilities to seek for information. Having some genetic power from the god of wisdom, he was the trusty adviser of Queen Beryl. He never failed to obtain any information he wanted. Well, he was indeed the son of the once mighty wisdom god after all.

"To think that till now, you are still using this ruined laboratory…" a man he knew for years spoke.

"Oh… What a pleasant surprise. I never thought you would have the time for a visit, Father." Tomoe expressed himself freely towards the elder in a cloak.

"I just came here to retrieve some notes that I had left behind." the elder made his way to an almost wrecked shelf and took out a thick, old book.

"Why… You came all the way back for that? Oh! I almost forgot, a thousand years ago, you went through lots just for one of those books …even to the extent of trapping the Father of Time in his own Death Zone and banishing his daughter." Tomoe said in disgust. "Let's see… You still haven't given up your childish dream of becoming the King of Gods yet hadn't you? But now, you are really pathetic… to be working as an advisor for a hopeless demon prince… isn't it so, Mr Wiseman?"

"Same goes to you, Son. What is it like to be licking a filthy demon queen shoes?" Wiseman paused for a second as he clutched his fists. "I will never forget the day I was eliminated from heaven after 'The Light of Hope' erased all the 'Sin-core' I worked so hard to achieve."

"Oh… that! You are indeed the Master Mind aren't you? Using such a forbidden tactic to dirty the souls of some gods… but not everything went according to what you had expected huh? And thanks to you, I got no where to go but here!" Tomoe exclaimed angrily.

"I don't blame you for hating me… But, not long from now, I will take back all that belongs to me! And we will be able to get back to heaven!"

"Don't make me laugh. You?! Never! It will be me who will claim the Doom-will!" Tomoe clutched his fist hard.

"If you believe so…" Wiseman replied before disappearing into the darkness. "Unlike you son, I've already obtain a prediction on where Father Sky will show up next."

--

* * *

--

"I presume we are not going after the two demons right?" Taiki inquired.

"Of course not. We are not some demon hunters or whatever they call them. Well, unless they are stupid enough to provoke us, if not, I don't think we have any spare time for them." Seiya replied in a carefree manner.

"Demon hunters? What exactly do they do?" Usagi asked, surprisingly calm about the whole 'demon conversation' they were having.

"Basically they are human who hunt down demons and do justice to the society. It may seem this way, but they get paid by high authorities for doing so…" Yaten answered.

"Oh? So, there are other people besides the three of you dealing with issues like this?" Usagi asked innocently.

"You are wrong, Usagi. Your dear Celestial Knight is anything but a man of justice. So, we did not plan to have anything to do with all these so-called 'demon extinguishing'. It just so happen that we get to meet demons on our journey…" Yaten answered back coolly.

"And, though some may think of us as demon hunters, but in reality, we are not. You see, all demon hunter works under an organization called 'Sogue'. The organization trained those individuals and used them to eliminate demons. They did persuade us to join them before, but they got rejected straight in the face, since our proud Seiya will not allow anyone to order him around…" Taiki giggled at the thought of Seiya being forced to follow orders.

"That's nothing funny, Taiki…" Seiya let out a sigh before directing his attention to Usagi. "Odango, you better get some sleep. We will be setting off early tomorrow."

"Where is our stop destination?" asked Usagi as she prepared her bed.

"Let's see… Artemis Central, also known as The Country of the Moon." Taik replied while studying the map once more.

"Eh?" Usagi reacted surprisingly. "But, that's where Prince Mamoru lives!"

--


	12. The Moon Tribute

--

**The Moon Tribute**

--

"Artemis-sama!! Artemis-sama!!" A mob of citizen shouted as they chased after three young men.

"What a headache." Seiya groaned, running rapidly away from the pursuing citizens while carrying Usagi in his arms.

"And, who the hell is Artemis?! And why are they chasing us?!" Yaten added in frustration.

"I don't think they are chasing us, it looks like they are after you." Taiki replied calmly.

"Yes! So stay away from us, you wanted criminal!" Seiya exclaimed while he tried to get away from Yaten.

"Who are you calling criminal, you idiot?! And don't think you can dump me and escape alone! I am definitely dragging you IN!" Yaten ran closer till he was side by side with Seiya

"YOU IDIOT!!" Seiya yelled at him.

"Everyone! This way!"

They followed Taiki's lead into a dead end and made a quick leap onto a nearby roof. After all the pursuers had gone out of sight, they got back down and put on their cloaks. Whenever they visited places whereby they are well-known, they would wear cloaks with hoods to hide their appearances.

"Che…To think that we actually need to put this on so soon." Yaten stated in an irritated tone.

"It's all thanks to somebody…" Seiya replied sarcastically.

"Hey! I don't understand the reason for all this attention either!" Yaten yelled at him.

"Alright, alright… it's no big deal as long as we stay hidden under these hoods. Let's find ourselves a resting spot to settle our belongings." Taiki stated as they walked past the streets filled with decoration and event set-ups.

"MAKE WAY! MAKE WAY FOR KING CHIBA AND THE PRINCE!" a guard was shouted from afar as all citizens moved quickly to the side.

From the distance, two well-dressed gentlemen were seen approaching on horses, they were guarded by a troop of armored soldiers. The younger man on his white mount was waving casually at the cheering crowds as they made their way through.

"Oh! It's Prince Mamoru! It's Prince Mamoru!" the girls screamed in excitement at the prince who they thought looked rather charming.

"Hmmm… won't it be better if we stand by the crowd instead?" Taiki pondered as they stood at the midst of the path observing the occurrence taking place.

"Did they just call us to stand by the side?" Usagi asked Seiya, not catching what the announcement.

"I guess they did…" Seiya replied with a smile.

Yaten yawned, obviously tired of seeing the same scene since he had witnessed it countless time while traveling with Seiya. "I am bored, let's get going…"

But before they could go, a few guards ran forth and surrounded them. "Stop right there! How dare you block the way of the King and Prince?"

"Our apologies…" Taiki apologized politely, not wanting to grab anymore attention. "We will be on our way…"

"What is happening here?" The king asked as he eyed down at the four strangers in cloaks.

"They are in the way, your majestic!"

"Now what?" Yaten folded his arm with irritation.

"You four seem suspicious! You are not going anywhere!" One of the guards ordered as he tried grabbing Usagi by her arm but another hand seized his instead, preventing anyone from touching Usagi.

"Don't you dare touch her…" Seiya stated sternly

The guard let out a scream of pain; Seiya's grip was hurting him terribly.

"Hey! What do you think you are doing? Let him go at once!" the rest of the soldiers ordered, pointing their spears a him.

"It's alright Seiya… I am fine…" Usagi told him with a smile, not wanting the poor man to suffer any longer.

With it, Seiya released the man and he instantly fell onto his knees, making the rest of the soldiers back away with a slight hint of fear.

"What have we gotten ourselves into this time?" Taiki sighed, hating the attention they had grabbed to themselves.

"Seriously, why can't we have a peaceful journey just for once?" Yaten wondered, shaking his head at the amount of citizens that had gathered around them to check out the rising commotion.

"Is there something wrong?" Mamoru asked as he dismounted and walked up to his group of soldiers.

Upon recognizing him, Usagi called out to him softly, "Mamoru-san?"

Mamoru turned speechless for a second. Looking under her hood, he saw her dazzling blue eyes and immediately commanded the soldiers to hold back.

"Princess Usagi?! Is it really you? Why on earth are you here? Step back men! She is my friend."

"So, he's the one you are talking about?" Seiya asked, eyeing at Mamoru with a slight hint of displease.

Usagi nodded, "Few years ago, Mamoru-san along with King Chiba visited Father frequently. They are pretty close friends and allies."

Usagi then turned back to Mamoru and answered, "I am traveling around with my friends…"

"Traveling? Friends?" Mamoru gave her a confused stare as he looked at the three strangers next to her.

"Son, who are they?" King Chiba asked while dismounting from his horse.

"Father, do you remember her? She's princess Usagi." Mamoru replied.

Usagi let down her hood and greeted the King, oblivious by the fact that everyone including Mamoru was caught mesmerized by her beauty.

"Princess Usagi! What a pleasant surprise! Oh my, you have grown to become such a fine lady. How's your father?" the king asked enthusiastically.

"Thank you, sir. Father is doing pretty well." She smiled politely and continued, "Sir, I will like you to meet Seiya, Yaten and Taiki."

Out of courtesy, the three of them released their hoods and greeted the king.

Everyone was overwhelmed with shock as they stared with their mouth wide-open at the three men.

"This… This… Aren't you the Celestial Knight, Seiya Kou?! And… and… It can't be possible… Artemis-sama!" King Chiba exclaimed in astonishment.

Seconds later, the people around them were all on their knees as they chanted, "Long live Artemis-sama! Long live Artemis-sama!"

-

* * *

-

"What do you want Nephrite?" a young woman with bleach-blonde hair asked fiercely.

"You don't have to be this stern, Haruka. I am here to offer some help with your current mission. Since we got news that your power isn't performing as dynamic as how it should be recently. Are you having problem with changing yourself into a man lately? If it is so, I may offer a hand in helping you with the Makajiu demons" The general with wavy long dull brown hair offered.

"I don't need your help! I can handle those demons easily whether I am a man or not!" Haruka replied while clutching her fists.

"Oh really? I still remember the first day we brought you into the organization. Because of your strange abilities, we thought you were a demon. But, all this years, you did help us eliminate many demons. We had already accepted you as one of Souge's best officer even with your abnormal gender changing aptitudes." Nephrite said with a grin.

"Don't associate me with such a hypocrite organization … I know what you guys are planning behind us all along!"

"We don't see you as a threat even if you know our secret. And you can leave Sogue anytime you want, since your darling Michiru will be under our care." Nephrite told her while walking away.

"You bastards! Don't you dare lay your filthy hands on her! " Haruka yelled furiously.

"Don't worry, as long as you follow orders she will be fine. Furthermore, she's our finest discovery… We will never want to do any harm to her."

His laugh was the last thing she heard before he disappeared into the distance.

--

* * *

--

"This is the great Artemis, The God of the Moon."

They were looking at a full-size painting of a man with his long white hair neatly tied up into a low ponytail. Everything about him was drawn with such brilliant details that it seemed like he could come to life before them. Situated with a moon as its background, he was holding a bow on his right hand and an arrow on his left. His angelic face held a smile of serenity and his bright emerald eyes was gazing down at what was below. The person in the painting shocked everyone as he looked exactly like Yaten.

"This guy is not me!!" Yaten declined stubbornly.

"Yes, I agree. You don't have such elegant smile." Seiya nodded.

"Hey! What do you mean by that!" Yaten glared at Seiya.

"This is the reason why everyone thought you were Artemis-sama." King Chiba explained.

"And there are still thousand of citizens out there chanting your name, Yaten." Taiki reminded.

He wasn't lying, of course, since everyone could still hear the citizens calling from him outside the palace gate.

"This is getting so out of hand." Yaten stated restlessly.

"Haha! You can't blame them, Artemis-sama… I mean Sir Yaten. You see, Artemis-sama was the saviour of our country." King Chiba began telling the myth.

"The early beginning of our country was said to have been invaded by demons hungered for power a thousand years ago. They had the whole country trapped in darkness. Our ancestors never experience a day whereby they could witness any light. Till that very night when the demons decided to consume the whole country, the country saw the bright full moon for the first time. And at the central of it was what seemed like an angel from the moon. He had white, translucent wings and he held a big white bow. His angelic smile lifted everyone's suffering and with a shot of an arrow, it rained moonlight beams that caused all demons to vanish. It was as if our ancestors' prayers were heard. He saved our country deliberately without gaining any benefit... This place will not exist if it wasn't for Artemis-sama and this was why our ancestors had the country named after him." King Chiba explained.

"Whoever that guy was, he is definitely not Yaten." After listening to the story, both Taiki and Seiya concluded together.

"Are the two of you saying that I don't look like a hero here." Yaten retorted.

"Haha! Whatever it might be… I am so honoured to have all of you here with us today. Why not stay for the night since we are having our annual moon festival. It is a tribute celebration for our saviour Artemis-sama." King Chiba asked with a smile.

"Yes… Why not stay, Princess Usagi? I will love to have you as my partner for tonight's ball." Mamoru stated with anticipation.

"Sorry, she's not available for any circumstances." Seiya quickly rejected on Usagi's behalf, coming between Mamoru and Usagi.

His action angered Mamoru a little as he wanted to spend some time with the beauty.

"Gomen(Sorry) neh, Prince Mamoru, I am not good at ballroom dancing and socializing, you may like to find a better partner?" Usagi answered gracefully.

Though Mamoru was feeling disappointed, he had somehow knew the answer beforehand. Since young, Usagi paid no attention to him despite how hard he tried to impress her and she was always formal and reserved.

"So, are we spending our night here then?" Taiki asked with a smile.

"I don't mind a night. Though I am not too keen with the entire Artemis' tribute festive…" Yaten answered emotionlessly.

Usagi was showing her puppy-doll eyes to Seiya, silently pleading him to let her to stay over.

"Alright… alright we are staying. You don't have to use such tactic." Seiya told her with a smile, unable to say 'No' to those eyes of hers.

Usagi jumped and hugged Seiya excitedly, "Yeah! Seiya! You are the best!"

Mamoru could feel his jealousy raging at her intimacy towards Seiya.

"Hey… hey… Behave yourself." Yaten told them.

"You don't have to get all jealous." Seiya smirked, indirectly sending the message to Mamoru.

He glared at him, warning him to stay away from Usagi which made Mamoru clutched his fist.

"Why must I be jealous of you?!" Yaten argued back, believing Seiya was teling that to him.

"I apologize for their rudeness. They are always acting this way…" Taiki apologized to King Chiba on his friends' behalf.

"No… No, not a problem…" The king answered immediately as he shifted his attention to Usagi.

"What makes you to take on traveling, Princess Usagi? Though your companions are the three well-known knights, I can't believe that your father would allow that…" King Chiba asked.

Usagi simply smile at the remark. "That's because I have found two very important friends and someone special."

--

* * *

--

"What? You are intending to send some demon hunters to go after the Celestial Knight? Is this an order from the head?" A man with short dirty blonde hair exclaimed.

"Just like what Jadeite asked. What are you thinking, Mamoru? Even if you are one of the commanders of Sogue, without approval from the head, it is not possible to send pursuers against him." Another man added.

"Zoisite is right. Furthermore, it's better not to make the Celestial Knight as our enemy. He had slain demons beyond our list, definitely not someone to mess with. And even our high authorities look up at him…" Jadeite explained.

"So, he's that deadly? Do you seriously believe that a human could hold such great power?" Mamoru asked coldly.

"What you are trying to say is…"

"He's definitely a demon! It is impossible for any human to have such massive power. Our organization is established to eliminate all demons no? I will find prove that he is one! It will benefit the organization too, won't it? To have such a powerful demon captured… we could steal his energy and made it ours." Mamoru smiled devilishly.

-

**Author notes:** 'Prince Mamoru' is the same person as the Mamoru mentioned in the last part. There's only one Mamoru throughout the story, so do not get confuse since he had a two sided life and faces.


	13. Under the Full Moon

--

**Under the Full Moon**

--

"No one goes near Seiya!! He's mine!!" Usagi exclaimed, spreading her hand wide out to block a mob of girls from getting too close to him.

Seiya smiled at her action as he deliberately leaned forward and hugged her from behind, "It's true, I belong to her only…"

The girls taken aback by his response left feeling a sense of unsatisfactory.

"I didn't expect you to be this possessive." Seiya chuckled.

"I am not!" Usagi declined with a thick blush. "It's just that I don't feel good when they tried to get near you."

Seiya chuckled, feeling a little happy with her reply. He reached for her hand and took it into his, "Now that you had scared away all my fans, we can enjoy the night festival the way we wanted to."

Usagi nodded and smiled happily back. Then, they strolled down the night street hand in hand, cherishing every single seconds together.

--

* * *

--

While Seiya and Usagi were happily dating, Taiki was with Yaten at the country's central library looking through some of the country's books collection.

"Will you ever get sick going through all these? Or are you intending to visit all libraries that are available in this world?" Yaten asked restlessly.

"Well, you don't have to follow me if you dislike this place." Taiki told him while scanning through some lines.

"It's not like I got any other choice. This is the only place whereby I can find peace and quiet." Yaten replied while rocking his chair. "So, how's your reading coming along?"

"As expected from the 'Moon' country, there is a lot of information regarding the God of the Moon, Artemis. It's beneficial to gain more knowledge about him, since he's one of the sacred generals of hell. So, by any chance, are you interested to know more of about yourself, Artemis-san?"

"Hey! I told you I am not him!" Yaten exclaimed feeling a little irritated. "Besides, this Artemis guy is just a legend… He seemed too good to be true."

"I don't think so…" Taiki flipping a page continued, "He's related to the Dark Lord which placed a link to the Doom-will that we are seeking for. So, Artemis is definitely not just a myth. As a matter of fact, the five sacred generals are all well-known to be incredibly strong with unbelievable mythological backgrounds."

"If that's the case, I will really like to meet them." Yaten added emotionlessly. "Hey… Taiki, besides investigating on the sacred generals, you might like to handle the few demons loitering around this country?"

His remark lured Taiki's attention to the increasing amount of demon presences coming from outside. He sighed, closing his book and bring it to the counter.

"I will like to borrow this for a day." he told the librarian.

"So, it looks like you have decided on going then..." Yaten guessed, standing up and exiting the library with Taiki.

--

* * *

--

A group of thieves had surrounded a young man with short bleach-blonde.

"You are not going anywhere, Haruka Tenoh." Ann stated as she remained seated on the top of a streetlamp.

This had caught many passer-by attentions as they stood at a distance observing the bizarre scene.

"Do you seriously believe that this few dimwits can take me on?" Haruka asked as he drew out his two daggers, performing an encircling swing which had all the thieves falling back injured.

He then leaped up and made a dash attack towards Ann. Teleporting herself to his side in order to dodge his attack, she changed herself back into her demon form. Upon witnessing her transformation, the citizens were seen fleeing away from the scene.

"Impaling Rage!"

Immediately after her call, the ground began trembling recklessly as plant-like spikes came emerging from the concrete floor.

Haruka leaped higher up into the air as he tried to dart those spearing spikes.

"Ahhh!" He screamed in pain when two long sharp spikes sliced past his arms.

Holding onto his right cut, he landed carelessly onto a nearby roof.

"I have overestimated you… Are you sure you are one of the strongest demon hunter around?" Ann smirked.

Haruka stared fiercely back and stood steadily on his feet. He raised his daggers, murmuring, "Air Storm Assemble"

Immediately, small portion of the surrounding clouds gathered around his weapons, revealing the full moon. Soon, his blades were seen glowing with cloudy cores. With it, he made another swift dash towards her.

"Well, this is something unexpected." Ann stated as she summoned more impaling spikes from below.

As Haruka cut through the upcoming spikes, the atmosphere around the area became misty and unclear. Ann taken aback from the sudden change of the density around her, stood motionlessly at the roof top.

"What is this? I can't see anything…!" she exclaimed as she tried to clear the mist with her hands.

"Who is overestimating who now?" Haruka asked, appearing from behind her.

Instantly after, Ann felt a sharp blade pierced through her back, causing her to fall roughly down onto the bottom ground.

Intending to slay the demon with his next attack, Haruka was ready to jump off but was stopped by a sudden force that fastened him to the roof. Looking down, he was startled to find two black lucent hands grabbing onto his legs. A man with his face hidden underneath a hood appeared before him. Haruka could only stare back in shock at the stranger sudden appearance.

"To hold the power to assemble cloud and control the air, you are definitely Father Sky." The old man claimed in a low voice.

"Wiseman-sama!" Ann exclaimed.

"Ann, you did a great job. He's the one I am looking for… Now, all I need to do now is to weaken his power." Wiseman concluded.

Immediately, Haruka could feel the hands that were holding onto his legs tightening their grips, as they drained energy off him. He screamed out in despair as he fell weakly onto the roof floor, his body altering back into a female's.

"I see… No wonder I had a tough time tracking you, since you'd disguise yourself as girl whenever your powers are weakened." Wiseman stated as he noticed the slight change in Haruka's appearance.

"You bastard…" Haruka mumbled as she tried to get back up but her next sentence of cut off by the appearance of another challenger.

"Don't think I will let you have Father Sky!" Tomoe called out from across.

Two demons came charging towards Wiseman as he backs away steadily. A different pair of demons appeared at the sides of Haruka instantly, one with the appearance of a white mouse and another of a black cat.

"Iron Mouse, Tin Nyanko! Take her away!" Tomoe ordered.

"I had predicted this coming, Tomoe." Wiseman exclaimed while floating on thin air.

"Rubues! Saphire!" Wiseman called out and immediately two men appeared from above as they attacked Iron Mouse and Nyanko.

This sent the two enemies duo fighting off with each other.

Haruka was filled with despair as she witnessed helplessly from above how the whole country was caught in a fierce battle between the two demon clans. Everywhere was covered with escaping and screaming citizens as both Wiseman and Tomoe called for back ups.

"Stop it!" She yelled helplessly, watching a demon raising its axe at little child.

Using all her available strength, she tried to set herself free from the two binding hands, but to no avail. Looking back, she could see the demon dropping its weapon.

"NOOOOO!!"

Suddenly, a slash of sharp wind attacked he demon on its chest, sending it flying to a wall. Tracing the origin of the attack, she saw Taiki walking calmly towards the child. Then, she saw his sword…

"That guy… No way… He's conquered the cursed sword, 'Swift-wind'. Who on earth is he?"

And, to Haruka's astonishment, Taiki looked back up at her as though he knew someone was watching him.

"Though I am not sure what's going, it definitely got to do with the guy up there." Taiki assumed as he leaped and landed next to Haruka.

He studied the black lucent hands that were holding onto Haruka for a few second before facing her and with a smile, "Sorry, I think you may need to bear with this till Seiya comes. I am afraid my blade might cut your legs off if I try to free you."

Before Haruka could further question him, she glimpsed a hundred needle-like objects targeting towards Taiki. But, to her surprise, Taiki just stood there confidently, with no intention of moving away from the coming attack.

"What are you doing?! Move away! They are aiming you!" Haruka yelled at him desperately.

Then, she understood the reason for his calmness when a huge fire wave suddenly emerged, burning the needles into ashes.

"Taiki! Get serious!" A furious sounding voice shouted.

Facing the direction where it came from, she found herself staring directly at the big full moon, at the central of it stood a guy with long silvery hair.

And, looking closer, she noticed that his hands were flaming red.

"I am giving you a chance to repeat history, Artemis-san." Taiki giggled, not even looking back at him.

"I told you not to call me that!" Yaten retorted.

All demons stopped their battle, as they noticed their leaders switching attention to Taiki and Yaten.

"I could not read in peace with you guys making so much noise. I guess I've got no choice but to come here personally and keep the volume down." Taiki announced calming while facing the surrounding demons.

"If that's the case, let see what you've got!" Tomoe smirked as he ordered his underlings to attack Taiki.

Instantly, four female demons appeared, as they each stood at one corner, surrounding Taiki and Haruka.

"Get away from here! This four are B-rated demons, even with Swift-wind it's impossible to take them all out at once!" Haruka told Taiki in an urgent tone.

"B-rated? I don't care if they are gods… Whoever disturbed my reading shall not escape unpunished." Taiki stated coolly, before the still air around them changed its pace.

"Don't get too cocky, handsome boy! Everyone, attack him together!" Iron Mouse yelled.

The four corners threw their attacks, sending feather-looking spikes, lighting spears, black belt-like balls and sharp ice shards all at once towards Taiki.

"Wind repel." Taiki summoned and raised his sword.

The wind around him started to fasten their speed hastily, and in just a split second, a cyclone was formed bounding him and Haruka, deflecting all the coming attacks.

Everyone widened their eyes in surprise as they witnessed the outrageous wind structure that was created within a blink of the eye. Suddenly, four deadly wind strikes emerged speedily from within the cyclone slashing the four demons. The strikes were summoned so precisely that it hit them on their fatal spot.

"_The Master of the Wind…"_ The legendary hero name suddenly surfaced within Wiseman and Tomoe minds.

"Everyone fall back! Do not get near that guy!" Tomoe ordered as he knew no demons here are capable of defeating Taiki.

"Yes, you better retreat since no one at your side can stand a chance against him." Wiseman told Tomoe without looking at him.

"You are no better!" Tomoe argued back in a fierce tone.

"Do you think I will withdraw when there are two sacred generals here? This is my once in a lifetime chance… No matter what, I'll take them back with me!" Wiseman declared and signaled Saphire to host his attack on Taiki.

Saphire widened his arms as he started chanting for several seconds.

"Black Hole"

A small circular black void was formed as it began absorbing the air around Taiki. The hole was seen growing bigger as it took in more wind from the cyclone.

Realizing Saphire's abilities, Taiki cut through the gust of spinning wind around him, drawing back any element of the wind available into the blade.

He raised his eyes at Saphire and smirked "Not bad. You are not as weak as Seiya claimed. But don't think you have defeated me just yet, since I have already found your weak points."

"Weak points? Don't make me laugh!" Saphire laughed before sending down an order to the demons around him. "He's powerless now, all charge!"

Demons that were under his command began charging towards Taiki. Just when Haruka thought everything had come to an end, several fire balls were shot out from behind of Taiki. This unexpected obstruction had prevented the demons from any continuous assault.

All eyes flew to Yaten as he stood at the highest roof with the moon shinning brightly behind him. His glowing flaming right hands were seen turning luminous white.

"You've got me serious." He declared coldly.

--


	14. Under the Full Moon II

--

**Under the Full Moon II**

-

"Do you honestly think that we will be frightened by some mere fire attacks?" Rubeus appearing before Yaten asked arrogantly.

There was a moment of silence as all the demons present turned and stared at the man situated in front of the moon.

-

"_Normal demons were generally afraid of fire – Weak or strong, since their skin are easily prone to burns and sensitive to excessive heat. Thus coming into direct contact with fire might cause them to have severe wounds. Travelers upon knowing this fact carried fire torches with them as a form of protection against any attacking demons. Countries and towns have fire barriers around their territories to scare away any intruding demons._

_Human who focus and train on magical ski__lls without the aid of weaponry were known as mages. They were casters that specialized in elemental spells such as fire, water and lighting. Mages that only master one elemental spell are called focused mage, and normally they would choose fire over the other element. It wasn't easy to claim the title 'Fire Mage', as it'd take years of practice and great talent to become one. The most powerful fire mage in legend was perhaps the God of Fire, Hephaestus until he lost to the Dark Lord during a battle thousand years ago._" _– Story fact._

_-_

"So, I presume you are a fire mage too then." Rubeus continued. "Too bad for you, the demons we brought here are no normal demons."

"This is bad…" Haruka concluded in serious tone. "Most of the demons here are B-rated and above. Even if he's a fire mage, I am afraid…"

"You can't consider Yaten as a mage. He has broken every rule available to be considered as one. Furthermore, he's much more than that…" Taiki interrupted her. "Especially when he gets serious…"

"How can you guys be so confident despite being surrounded by all this enemies?" Haruka asked in disbelief.

Taiki shrugged, "Maybe because we have experience this many time… or it's just simply because we just don't feel like running away anymore."

Little did Taiki knew, his reply somehow motivated Haruka by a bit as she began to develop a new inner strength.

"Have I scared you so bad that you have lost your voice?" Rubeus asked with a smirk, seeing that Yaten wasn't replying to his question.

"Me? Scared? I am feeling so pissed right now." Yaten growled as he raised his voice. "Seriously… Where THE HELL IS SEIYA AT A TIME LIKE THIS?!"

While everyone turned quiet from shock, Taiki was the only one laughing at his remark, "He has probably gone off with Usagi-san somewhere! Definitely out of this country since he should be the first one to sense all this coming!"

"Damn that idiot!! Now, I could really need a good killing to vent out my anger. And when I am done here… I will find that idiot and kick him real hard!" Yaten yelled aloud, obviously ignoring Rubeus and the others.

"_At a time like this, he's actually thinking of such things_?" Haruka thought unbelievably.

"How dare you ignore us?!" Rubeus shouted, sending a wave of fire forward, but Yaten simply dodged it with ease.

Angered, Rubeus shot out more flaming balls as Yaten continued evading them skillfully with no intention of fighting back.

"Why isn't he attacking?" Haruka asked, not understanding why Yaten did not strike the enemy when there were plenty of chances to.

"This is an old habit of his…" Taiki replied while watching Yaten avoided those fire casts. "Whenever he's in a battle, he will take it as an opportunity to improve his defensive skill and at the same time study his opponents."

Taiki smiled, recalling the very day when Seiya had rescued Yaten from a stone demon. At first, Yaten was strongly against learning or focusing on any defensive skill as he thought of it as something a coward would do. But, after his terrible defeat to the stone demon, it all came clear to him that defending was as important as attacking.

--

Flashback

"But, I guess with that tiny brain of yours… You can never master the arts of defense." Seiya teased.

"I will! I will dodge better than YOU! So that you won't have to save me again! I will fight my own battle and never lose again!" little Yaten yelled determinedly.

From that day on, Yaten would secretly study Seiya and his defending tactics. He would later apply Seiya's movements into his own fight and find opportunities to practice them in real battle.

-

"_He really does look like Seiya from here_." Taiki thought to himself. "_Guess he had already mastered it like he said he would."_

"What are you doing Rubeus?! You kept missing him!" Saphir yelled.

Rubeus had asked Saphir and the others not to interfere with his battle, since he wanted to duel a fire mage to test out his own ability.

"Let see how you dodge this! Fire mass explosion!" Rubeus called out his deadliest spell.

He shot a red orb onto the ground around Yaten and within seconds, the area surrounding him began to explode fiercely with massive fire blast. It lasted for more than ten seconds as all demons cheered at the sight of the fire explosion.

"He's a dead man." Saphir smiled pleasingly. "No one has survived Rubeus fire explosion before."

Taiki remained quiet the entire while, his eyes still on the area of explosion. Eventually, when all the blasting had finally settled down, the area was covered with the remains of grayish fire smoke.

"Yes, he is dead alright!" Rubeus grinned.

The environment was filled with laughter of joy.

But the laughing soon faded away as the smoke died down.

"Impossible…"

Everyone dropped their jaws in disbelief while Taiki smiled slightly at the sight of Yaten standing at the very same spot, unharmed and unhurt.

"No way! He dodged it all?!" Rebeus exclaimed.

"So much for the practice. Now, let get serious shall we?" Yaten declared with a smirk as his right hand suddenly ignited with white fury aura.

"_What is this?!_"

"There's something you need to know. I am no normal fire mage..." Yaten announced coolly. "And, do you know the difference between you and me?"

Overwhelmed by the sight of his fury white hand, Rubeus couldn't find his voice to reply back.

"That is… MY FLAME IS COLORLESS!" Yaten declared, channeling out an enormous fire blast towards Rubeus.

Rubeus evaded but barely avoided it, and it even shocked him further when he felt an icy yet burning chill coming from the white flame. To everyone's astonishment, the wall of fire did not extinguish even after it missed its subject, instead it followed Rubeus and got bigger. Yaten was controlling the flame with his hand as he stood stationary at his spot. Bit by bit, the flame circled around Rubeus.

"Collide." Yaten commanded before the white flame that had encircled itself around Rubeus grew stronger and bind together instantly.

"AHHHHHHHHH!!"

Everyone was frozen with fear at the painful scream coming from Rebeus. No one was moving, talking or even breathing as they watched how the deadly flame buried its prey within it.

"Rubeus!!" Saphir yelled.

In an attempt to save his companion, he began summoning the black hole that he had previously used against Taiki. But before he could finish channeling the spell, Yaten had already manipulated his flame into a bow and arrow as he aimed for Saphir's right abdomen, setting him on fire.

"AHHHHHHH!!"

But despite Saphir's scream for help, not a living soul was brave enough to help him extinguish the flame.

"What do we do now?" The demons asked their leader desperately but Wiseman was too occupied from shock to be bothered about their anxiety.

"_Impossible! That's… that's the __legendary Soul Fire. How can a kid like him summon such powerful spell?"_ He exclaimed in his thought.

_-_

"_Soul fire was a divine elemental flame that was believed to have a life of its own. Known to be extremely deadly, with its ability to continue burning for eternity, it was claimed that even if one reached the final level as a fire mage, he was not even close to learning this legendary fire element. The one person who uphold the power to use it was the God of Fire and later some said that the God of the Moon was seen casting it, in one of his battle." – Story fact._

_-_

Haruka, like all the others, was conquered by shock as she hung her mouth wide open at the sight of Yaten casting the extraordinary flame. On the other hand, Taiki just shook his head at his friend thoughtless behavior.

"Yaten, not that I mind you killing them but if you don't extinguish your flame now, you might set the whole country on fire."

"Che…" Yaten voiced out his irritation as he reluctantly lifted his finger, causing the flame to extinguish upon his command.

"If I was intending to kill him, I would have shot him in the heart. Don't worry, I wouldn't touch your prey, Taiki." Yaten answered restlessly while folding his arm.

"How very kind of you Artemis-san… Though it wasn't necessary." Taiki responded with a smile.

"I told you not to call me by that name!! I am not him!"

"Really? Look around you…" Taiki instructed.

It was then when Yaten realized that all the country citizens, who had hid themselves in a safe distance, were admiringly gazing at him.

"_Long live Artemi-sama!" _was what that was written on their faces as they witnessed quietly how their _god_ tried saving their country once more.

"Doesn't this scene seem familiar?" Taiki teased. "If you use your soul arrows and kill all these demons now, you are seriously repeating history."

"Can you just shut up and help me finish them." Yaten sighed, getting sleepy as it had already passed his bedtime.

Moments later, demons were seen fleeing for their lives as Yaten and Taiki assaulted them together. All their attacks landed onto the fatal spots of most demons, causing them to vanish instantly. It seemed all was going well till the two heroes, for some reason, found themselves disabled from their movement.

Frozen on the spot, Taiki noticed an orangey ward shinning brightly in front of Tomoe.

"_What the…"_ Yaten tried mumbling out but he couldn't even move his lips.

"Immobilize Ward." Tomoe announced.

He then turned to Wiseman who was summoning a portal to teleport both Rubeus and Saphir back.

"You can have Father Sky, but this two are mine to claim."

"What makes you think I will agree to this?" Wiseman asked. "I will be the one taking all of them."

"I am just being generous like a son should be." Tomoe replied. "If you want to waste anymore time here fighting over them, I got no objection. Since, it definitely won't be my loss."

"_Damn it! I underestimated them… I should have gone straight for the leaders."_ Taiki growled, feeling frustrated with himself for overlooking the situation.

Much to Seiya's displease, Taiki had his soft-side. If given a choice, he would choose not to deal any unnecessary harm to any human, mainly because of his sad past whereby his parents were killed before him.

"We will see about that…" Wiseman challenged calmly.

"Fiend Grip."

Similar hands that were holding onto Haruka were now draining energy off Yaten and Taiki. Unable to move, they could do nothing about the lucent black hands that were weakening them.

"You old bastard! How dare you steal them away like that?!" Tomoe yelled fiercely.

"What can you do about it then, son?" Wiseman smirked.

Tomoe growled angrily but kept quiet, thinking of a counter his.

"Let them go! This got nothing to do with them!" Haruka shouted out abruptly.

"_Great! Now we are in the same situation as him. No…Compared to him, we are in a much worse state. If only we could move or talk, Yaten could use his Soul fire to set himself free."_ Taiki thought.

"The two of them are as important as you are, Haruka." Wiseman continued with a victorious laugh. "As expected, the sacred generals of hell are mine!"

"He-Help me…"

Everyone including Wiseman turned to face the source of the cry. A demon with long light blue hair suddenly appeared and collapsed at the mid road.

"Ail!" Ann called out and rushed unsteadily towards the seriously injured demon.

"What happened? Who did this to you?" She asked in despair as she observed those cruelly cut wounds all over his bloody body.

"He…" Ail pointed at the direction of a long deserted road.

The silhouette of an approaching horse with blood red eyes slowly came into view. There was a moment of deep silence as everyone stared at the young man on the mount. His long black hair was seen hanging down from his right shoulder.

Dismounting the horse, he stepped into their vision and everyone immediately stopped breathing upon meeting his eyes that represented the color of cold darkness.

"They are MY comrades… No one is taking them…"


	15. A New Companion

**--**

**A New Companion**

-

"Im-Impossible…"

Wiseman reversed his steps as he stared in horror at the man who had just arrived.

"_The… The Dark Lord…"_

Tomoe was taken aback by his father sudden horrified expression, but at the same time felt grateful, considering it as a great opportunity to steal the generals back. However, before he could take any further action, a hazy figure suddenly appeared right before him.

His eyes widened with terror as his 'Immobilized ward' shattered into pieces. Without warning, the slim reflective black blade made another swift strike towards him. Whether it was because he was traumatized in fear or that the attack came too soon, Tomoe did not manage to avoid it. The deadly air attack caused him to fall down hard onto the concrete ground. Paralyzed by shock, all the demons including Haruka and Wiseman were in a disability state to react.

Holding onto his deeply slashed wound, Tomoe painfully looked up only to find himself staring into a pair of merciless.

He was stuck face to face with real terror.

Before he knew it, the young man disappeared from above and reappeared besides him. As he tried to back away desperately, Tomoe heard his cold voice spoke.

"Illusion… How dare you hurt my comrades…"

Tomoe watched as the black figure raised his deadly sword, a weapon that he recognized as the infamous Dark Terror.

Not able to suppress his fear, he let out a scream of agony.

A void shield unexpectedly emerged and protected him from the coming strike. Wiseman came forward, lifting Tomoe like a child before he flew upwards and landed on a roof a distance away.

"Why… Another illusion…"

Wiseman could not believe what he had just heard. _"As expected from the Dark Lord… He knew that these aren't our real body." _

Then to his dismay, he discovered that both Yaten and Taiki were free from his Fiend Grip spell. Turning his attention to Haruka, Wiseman was pleased to find that she was still spellbound. He placed the vanishing Tomoe down on the top floor and teleported directly onto the roof she was trapped in. 

But_ a_s soon as he got near her, someone attacked him from behind and impaled a deep cut right into his abdomen.

Covered with blood, Wiseman fell back hastily.

Haruka stared in disbelief Seiya who was now looking expressionlessly down at her. Then, without warning, he raised the Dark Terror, sending it down towards the pair of dark hands holding onto her and releasing her from the dreadful lock.

Seiya caught a fast glimpse of her before turning back to his main target.

"Let this be a warning for all those who dare touch my properties …" He told Wiseman in a cold voice.

"What do you mean by YOUR properties?!" Yaten yelled, showing up from behind. "You idiot! Why not make your appearance when we are all dead?! Do you know the feeling of having two irritating hands holding onto your legs the entire time?!"

Haruka could not believe her ears. Had she heard him right? Did that white headed guy just shouted and called her savior an idiot? He ought to have a lot of guts to say that to someone as dominating as Seiya.

But, to her surprise, Seiya simply replied casually, "Who could have expected that the almighty Artemis would get trapped by some dirty hands while dealing with two silly illusions? Seriously, they ought to rename this country to 'Seiya Central' instead…"

Haruka almost dropped her jaw at this. He seemed like a completely different person now as compared to the when Seiya eyes were showing clear coldness, attacking his enemies without any sympathy. But right now, she could hardly sense any killing instinct from him. She couldn't resist but chuckled at the scene in front of her.

Seiya and Yaten stopped their argument and looked back to face Haruka.

"Sorry… Sorry… It just so weird… Ignore me and just continue."

It was her first time laughing in public, and it made her felt awkward because in general, she would portrait a strong and hard image in front of everyone, since it was a necessary to.

Yaten let out a sigh, "Forget it. I'm tired."

Haruka quickly shifted her attention back to Seiya when she noticed him staring at her.

"You are a strange guy… but I don't hate someone like you…" Seiya stated before turning away.

For a second, Haruka could only gape back at him. Strangely, she thought she had met him from somewhere before. But where and when?

"God of the Moon, Father Sky…" Wiseman called out as the three of them shifted their attention back to the fading illusion. "And the Great Dark Lord…"

"Oh… he's still here…" Yaten voiced expressionlessly. "Is he talking to himself?"

"Don't think you have won yet… I will find each of your weaknesses like how I did a thousand years ago… and I shall have my revenge." He warned them before vanishing.

"I don't get him…" Yaten shrugged at the empty spot.

"I don't get this…" Seiya added as he gestured at a troop of men dressed in white military uniforms that had just arrived into the scene.

"Sogue!" Haruka exclaimed in a less than surprise tone. "As expected, they are here to capture all the remaining demons…"

"If you want to clash them, at least take care of your wounds first. Come with me! Taiki will get you treated…" Seiya told her, sensing the hatred she held for Sogue.

Though Haruka seriously did not want to receive anymore help from him, she knew he was right. She could barely walk stably in her present weak and injured state, let alone fight them.

She followed them to the ground and was startled to find a beauty with long bun-up hair running towards Seiya, immediately clinching onto him like a lost child who had finally found her mother.

"Seiya! Seiya! Are you alright? Are you hurt? Did they do anything cruel to you?" Usagi cried anxiously, checking his body for injuries.

"I'm fine, Odango. Didn't I promise you earlier that I will come back safely?" Seiya smiled lovingly back and patted her on the head.

Haruka blinked at the loving scene before her. Who would have thought that someone who looked so destructive and cold back then could smile ever so gently like that?

"Usagi, the last thing you should do is worry for this idiot. If you had seen him in action a few minutes ago, I bet you will be crying for those demons," Yaten stated in a care free manner.

Seiya glared at Yaten but before they could start another row of argument, Usagi faced Yaten and asked in concern, "What about you, Yaten? Are you alright?"

Taken aback by question, Yaten nodded with a little blush.

Usagi let out a sigh of relief. "That's great!"

Yaten looked away uneasily. There was something about her that had him feeling a little shy all of the sudden.

"Why are you blushing?" Seiya asked, looking at Yaten by the corner of his eyes.

"I am NOT!" He opposed back.

Then, someone interrupted them from behind.

"Sir Seiya-san and Sir Yaten-san, the Sogue Organization will like to have a private meeting with the both of you. It's regarding your heroic action against the intruding demons." The man with short dark hair approached them.

"Mamoru!" Haruka growled his name, feeling her temperature rising as she glared fiercely at him but Mamoru deliberately ignored her despite noticing her current rage.

"No! Don't go with him!" Haruka opposed right before anyone could respond. Mamoru frowned a little expressing his displeased while the remaining three stared startlingly back at her.

Sensing Haruka intensifying worries, Seiya replied with a sigh. "We will discuss the matter after we get him treated."

Yaten let out a yawn. "Right, and I'm too sleepy for anything now."

Finally noticing the badly injured blonde, Usagi agreed without hesitation, "Yes… his wounds look serious! We need to get him treated fast!"

Mamoru reluctantly agreed to delay the discussion, since he did not want Usagi to picture him as a heartless man. "If it's crucial, we can arrange a doctor for him right away."

"There's not a need to. Taiki is a professional when it comes to medical aiding." Seiya rejected the offer as he knew Haruka will never agree on seeing any doctor arranged by Mamoru.

Trying to hide his unsatisfied feeling by smiling, Mamoru responded back "Very well then, we will see the three of you later."

He then proceeded with a courtesy bow and gave Usagi a gentle smile before leaving.

--

* * *

**--**

"You! You are a girl?!" Taiki and Seiya both exclaimed together.

"I told you, I am actually a guy. But I would turn into a girl whenever my power is being restrained." Haruka tried explaining in exhaustion.

"That's so cool!" Usagi commented with sparkling eyes.

"Cool?" Haruka blinked at her response but was feeling a little happy about it, since besides Michiru, Usagi was the second person who didn't find her gender changing ability strange.

"It doesn't really matter whether you are a girl or a guy…" Taiki sighed and looked admiringly at Yaten who was sleeping peacefully at the bed next to Haruka's.

He too was worn out from all that had just happened, especially after having some of his energy forcefully taken away from him. He really could appreciate some rest.

"Taiki, I can attend the meeting alone. Go catch some sleep. We will be departing early tomorrow." Seiya told him thoughtfully.

"No… I am fine… You should know that I wouldn't be able to sleep well if I don't go with you." Taiki replied back quickly

"Don't trust them…" Haruka voiced out in a serious tone. "Don't trust the organization, Souge or Mamoru… They are plotting to steal all your available power off you!"

"What do you mean?" Usagi asked uneasily. "You are saying Mamoru-san is part of Souge?!"

"I was a demon hunter…" Haruka admitted softly before adding. "From the surface, Souge may look like an organization who does justice for the world. But, their true intention is far from that. They captured demons and used them as test specimens for their own benefits. Just recently, they developed a way to consume those demons' power abilities and use them as theirs. They are heartless human who wanted immortality. And Mamoru Chiba is one of the commanders who are in charge of all these activities!"

"No… It can't be true…" Usagi murmured in disbelief.

She could not swallow the fact that there were people carrying out such unjustifiable activity, with Mamoru, someone she knew being part of it. This had her mind going blank for a second till she felt a warm hand patting her on the head. Looking up, she saw Seiya smiling tenderly down at her, magically making her feel alive again.

"I am curious…If the organization is what you had describe it to be like, and you are obviously trying to help us here… why did you work for them then?" Taiki thought hard before he drew out a conclusion. "They are blackmailing you, aren't they?"

"Yes, someone important to me is currently trapped in their hand. She's… she's special…She was born with the power to communicate with plants and control nature. Upon knowing that, they captured her… I- I couldn't… I couldn't save her…If I want to keep seeing her I will need to obey them. From young, they trained me and I deliberately allowed them to use me as a tool. It doesn't matter, as long as they do not harm her, I am contented. But lately, they forcefully used her as a device to transfer power source from those demons to them! Everyday, she got to suffer through many painful procedures and… I … I …"

Haruka could continue no further. Her emotional pain had become too overbearing as tears were seen flowing down from her eyes.

Despite feeling extremely bad for Haruka, Usagi did not know what to do or say to comfort her. Then she heard Seiya voiced out clearly.

"Hey… What can you achieve by crying?"

Haruka stared furiously back at him, "What do you know?! You know nothing! Do you understand the feeling of not being able to save someone dear to you?!"

Seiya sighed, turning away from him as he proceeded for the exit. "Unlike you, I will never give up on the girl I love and I'll do anything to keep her by my side. So, don't talk to me about feeling when you just gave up from the start. If you really want to save her, than do it! Tears don't kill."

His words hit her hard. It felt as if someone had finally pulled out an arrow that was pierced into her heart. It hurt, but at the same time it revived her.

Haruka could only stare at Seiya as he turned over to Usagi and smiled lightly. "Sleep early, Odango. Good night."

"Hai! Good night, Seiya." Usagi beamed back at him, watching him closed the door behind him.

Taiki stood up with the intention to follow Seiya and added, "Seiya, he saved us when we were young… Whether it was before knowing us or after, he had been through a lot. His words may seem harsh, but they are always rewarding."

"Right. That idiot is not someone who takes pity on others and goes consoling them verbally." Yaten added tiredly with a yawn.

"What a surprise!? You are awake!?" Taiki asked in astonishment.

"I can't sleep in peace with all these noise…" He got out of bed and headed to the door. "That idiot owes me a sleeping debt."

"Usagi-san! Could you please take care of him while we are gone?" Taiki asked.

"Sure!" Usagi replied with a pleasant smile, more than happy to know that she could be of some help.

--

After the three had exited the room, Usagi turned her attention back to Haruka. Noticing that she was awkwardly quiet, Usagi spoke anxiously, "Don't blame Seiya. He didn't mean to hurt you. He's not a bad person, really…"

Haruka took a deep breath and covered her face with her right hand. "What he said was right… You know, all these years I have been acting all strong and aggressive, but I am really weak inside? I must be an embarrassment just now."

"You are not an embarrassment. You told us everything because you trusted us."

Looking back up, Haruka saw Usagi's smile brightly at her.

"Seiya… He seemed somewhat happy back when you told him about your worries…" Usagi continued.

"How do you know? But, it definitely doesn't seem like it to me." Haruka shook her head.

"I just know…" Usagi chuckled. "He just has a hard time expressing himself. Though he may look unaffected with you on the outside, he's someone really gentle and kind in the inside… He really does care for your current situation."

"Oh? From the look of it, you seemed to understand him quite well…" Haruka laughed before adding. "Who is he to you?"

Usagi flushed at her question. "He… he's someone…sp-special…"

"Oh… What do you mean by special?" Haruka asked teasingly.

"You are teasing me aren't you?" Usagi avoided the topic, her face still showing obvious redness. "Who is Michiru to you than?"

Haruka was taken aback by her question and turned serious. "Someone important… and this time I will definitely save her! Definitely! And… regarding my abnormal gender changing aptitude, I will conquer it too… "

"It looked like Seiya words had made an impact on you." She giggled and carried on. "But, I believe if she truly loves you… she won't mind your gender because things like these are less important as long as she could be by your side."

Placing both of her hands gently against her chest, Usagi added, "I suppose if Seiya becomes a girl… I will…I will still love him too. I know it may sound strange… and I don't understand the reason either… maybe there's none to it. But whenever I am with him, it makes me feel so warm inside."

"Ah ha! You said it… You said you love him!" Haruka pointed her finger at Usagi teasingly.

Usagi gasped, her face doubled in redness when she realized what she had just told her.

"But, he's really lucky to have a beauty like you falling for him." Haruka smilingly claimed.

"Lucky? No, he's not." Usagi's voice saddened. "He's always protecting me and I kept giving him nothing but trouble. Just a moment ago, a demon called Ail attacked Seiya because of me… Though in the end, Seiya fought him off without injuring himself and he never blamed me for it, it still hurt inside… Sometimes, I wonder whether I am a bother to him…"

"He will be sad if he hears you say all this…" Haruka told her thoughtfully. "I can tell… He cares a lot for you. His eyes showing obvious affection whenever he looks at you… I believe he will never think of you as a burden."

"Really?" Usagi asked innocently. "You sounded like you understand him quite well…"

"Maybe because I'm starting to fall for him…" Haruka joked.

"But you are a guy!" Usagi frowned at little.

"I am a girl now…" Haruka stuck out her tongue.

Several seconds later, light-hearted laughter was heard throughout the room.

It was a beginning of a new friendship…

--

* * *

--

"Despite being told that this was going to be a private meeting, there are quite a number of people here." Seiya said expressionlessly.

From the entrance point of view, the room was mainly occupied by a long clothed up table with approximately twenty men in their signature uniforms seated around it.

Mamoru rose from his seat as he made his opening. "My fellow generals and regional officers, let welcome the new members of Sogue. They are the prominent Celestial Knight, Sir Seiya, and his two equally powerful companions, Sir Yaten and Sir Taiki."

All the seated men stood up and applauded instantly.

"Hold it!" Yaten shouted back at Mamoru. "What is the meaning of this? We never agreed to join your filthy organization...!"

"You three should consider yourself lucky for being chosen to be part of this grand organization." The man with wavy dark brown hair argued. "Sorry, I should introduce myself. I am one of Souge's general, my name is Nephrite. I heard you have been taking care of my adorable officer, Haruka Tenoh. I know that he's quite a headache at times… Anyway, we will be sending a few men over to take him back..."

"There's not a need to…" Seiya stated calmly. "I am planning on keeping him for myself."

The room was filled with alarming silence.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Another general stood up and yelled. "He's under our custody!"

"But now he's mine." Seiya replied back in an unbothered tone.

"And we are not joining your silly organization!" Yaten added aloud.

Everyone rose from their seat. "Kid! Don't start acting arrogant just because you could fight off some demons!"

"Gentlemen! Please calm down." Mamoru stood up as he tried to silent his subordinates before turning to Seiya.

"Let me make things clear. I have gathered my precious subordinates here tonight, because we see you as a potential to be part of us. With your amazing records of dealing with demons, I can easily persuade our head authorities to give each of you a high-ranked position. And regarding Haruka's issue, if it pleases you, we can place him under your supervision after you join us."

"Everything you had mentioned does sound pretty welcoming." Seiya muttered as he leaned against the entrance door with his arms folded. "What advantage do we get if we join you?"

Mamoru smiled devilishly at his question. "You can have richness, reputation, and power. In exchange for your participation, our organization will give you anything you desire. Just say it… there's nothing we can't do for you."

"Hmmm…" Seiya lowering his face a little and requested. "Can you make me the King of Hell?"

"What?!" Everyone was taken aback by his request.

"I said: Can the organization make me the King of Hell?" Seiya repeated his question adding a slight playfulness in his tone.

"What?! What rubbish are you saying?!" All the men in the room were yelling at the top of their voice.

Mamoru once again silenced them before looking firmly back at Seiya, "Please take us seriously here, Sir Seiya-san. Your former request is definitely invalid."

"Oh? So you can't?" Seiya turned away with an act of disappointment. "Then we are not joining, good-bye!"

"Wait a minute!" Mamoru snapped at the leaving team. "You don't have a choice here! Either you join us or you'll have the whole organization against you!"

"Are you threatening me?" Seiya asked in a sudden cold tone.

At that very second, an intensive force of energy covered the room.

"What… What is this…?"

The men were all traumatized by the sudden pressurizing force surrounding them. Unable to withstand the impacting intensity, some of them fell onto their knees. Mamoru caught a glimpse of Seiya's deadly cold eyes and they instantly shot fear in him.

Taiki let out a sigh. "See what happen if you angered him…"

Looking back at Mamoru, Taiki continued in a stern voice, "Don't mess with us… You will regret it. And regarding Tenoh-san, he will be under our care from now."

With it, the three of them exited the room. And as soon as they did, the suffocating energy disappeared.

"He's… He's a demon!" Everyone exclaimed in panic as they tried to get back on their feet.

"I told you he is…" Mamoru spoke out slyly. "Now… Why don't we send demon hunters to have him captured?"

--


	16. The Promise

**--**

**The Promise**

--

Usagi could feel the morning sunray touching her exposed skin. The blonde slowly lifted her heavy eyelids and stared inattentively at the vivid ceiling for several seconds. The glass window behind her allowed the first light to venture into the dim room, partially brightening up the warm bed she was laying in. She sighed quietly and closed her eyes once again before tilling her body lazily to the right. It was at that moment when she felt soft breathing brushing against the side of her hand. Opening her eyes once more, she was fully awakened as she gasped at the person sleeping beside her.

"_Seiya…"_

She could not believe her eyes. Was she dreaming? Why was he asleep in her room? Not only that, but on the same bed with her?

Believing that she was once again fantasizing an image of him beside her, Usagi pinched herself on the cheek.

"_EeDai( it hurts.)!"_

It wasn't a dream then, and he was only an inch away from her.

Covering her mouth with both hands, she prayed that her heavy breathing would not disturb his sleep because the last thing she would want to do was to wake the sleeping creature beside her.

Her heart was hitting against her chest in such a fast and hard pace that it somehow hurt her physically. And it did take her a lot of effort and will power to calm herself down. Her eyes felt dry as she hadn't been blinking ever since she discovered him. The soft sunlight gradually landed itself onto his half-hidden face and immediately she stopped breathing.

"_He's… He's so beautiful…" _

Upon realizing that he was half-naked and they were actually sharing the same sheet caused Usagi to flush even more. Now, she could even hear the increasing momentum of her heartbeats as she gaped at his well-built body. She noticed his long black hair was let flowing off from his broad shoulder. His chest was perfectly shaped, not too muscular but overall manly. Slightly below his chest, she realized that he owned a six pack abs. At that moment, she found herself gasping in disbelief as everything about him just seemed too attractive to be considered humanly possible.

Soon, Usagi found herself panicking when she saw Seiya slowly lifting his eyelids and staring blankly back at her.

He blinked once…

…and twice,

"Ehhhhhhhhhh?! Odango?!" Seiya exclaimed and shot up in astonishment. "Why are you…? What are you doing here?!"

For a moment, the couple could only stare speechlessly back at each other with a pink tinted faces, unable to react.

Seiya could feel his heart skipped by a beat when he noticed that she wearing a pure white satin nightdress that fixed her body perfectly well, visibly showing off her curves and her fair, slender With only two slim stripes allowing the dress to stay intact to her body, it did make her look delicate and tempting.

"_No good… She looks too alluring..."_

To prevent himself from doing anything reckless, Seiya backed away a little.

"When I woke up… I found you in my room…" Usagi explained in a soft voice.

Finally understanding the situation, Seiya placed his right hand over his forehead and sighed. "I get it now. I stumbled into your room last night by mistake… I'm sorry, did I scare you?"

Usagi shook her head gently, "Not really…"

She knew she was feeling more anxious than scared and Seiya bad sense of direction tended to mislead him at times.

"You get change and we will meet outside." Seiya instructed awkwardly, knowing that if he didn't leave the room soon, he might not be able to control the lust growing inside him.

"Wait…" Usagi called out, grabbing Seiya by his right arm.

"I am sorry…" She apologized and tears were seen forming in her eyes.

He widened his eyes at her in confusion, "Odango? Why are you apologizing?"

Seiya knew very clearly that he was the one at fault, since he carelessly went into the wrong room without reassuring, slept next to her the whole night, and had sinful thoughts the very next day. So, why was she apologizing?

"Don't cry… I am the one in the wrong here, not you…" He comforted, wiping her tears.

Usagi shook her head, "I have been nothing but a bother to you… I am a burden…I know you promised father to protect me… but … because of me, you got into a lot of dangers and the next time you might get hurt or even…"

"Please stop. It's not true…" Seiya cut in and pulled her into his chest, stopping her from completing her sentence. "You are not a burden… Don't ever think this way! The reason why I am protecting you is because I want to. Can't you see that you are the most important person to me? Who would have thought that even someone like me could find something… someone, I would treasure so dearly, with all my heart. And that person is you, Usagi."

For a brief moment, Usagi just froze inside his arms with a thick blush flashed across her face. She blinked back her tears and let her hands wandered to the back of his neck as she hugged him back. "You are really important to me too! So… So…"

"I promise you, I won't die…Not when you still need me…" Seiya answered back without hesitation, in a way, as if he could read her mind.

He carefully pulled her away and looked affectionately into her watery blue eyes before adding, "But, will you promise me that you will never leave me? No matter what, stay by my side forever..."

Usagi's face turned darker as she nodded shyly. He leaned forward, as if to kiss her which made her close her eyes nervously. Seiya continued to lean closer and closer, and just when his lips was about to touch hers, someone knocked at the door.

"Hey! Usagi… This is Yaten! Have you seen Seiya?! He's not in his room…"

The couple back away at this, both their faces holding a shade of dark red.

"Usagi, are you awake?" Yaten pestered again.

"That idiot…" Seiya growled and got up from the bed.

Without further hesitation, he took the blanket that was lying around them the whole time and gently wrapped it around Usagi, not wanting Yaten or any other guy to see her in such an appealing state.

"When you are done changing, meet me outside. We will be leaving after breakfast." Seiya told her and patted her on the head.

Usagi nodded back cheerily and as soon as she did, she felt his lips pressed against hers. It was just a light peck but it was enough to make Usagi flushed. She stared shyly at the man who had just kissed her and watched as he turned away from her. Touching her lips with her finger, she smiled.

"You idiot!" Seiya exclaimed out of frustration as he opened the door harshly and stood by the entrance, blocking Yaten's view.

Yaten scowled at this. "Why are you in Usagi's room? And you are not even properly dressed! What perverted things have you done to Usagi!?"

He jumped into conclusion, noticing that his vest was unbuttoned and his long black robe was hanging untidily over his right shoulder.

Closing the door behind him, Seiya retorted, "I didn't do anything to her! It just that… I carelessly went into her room last night…"

"You mean INTENTIONALLY…" Yaten emphasized.

"I told you…"

Seiya was interrupted by the sound of opening doors.

"Can the two of you please be more considerate and keep your volume down? Do you not realize that there are people who are still sleeping?" Taiki muttered tiredly as he glared at his friends showing obvious displeased for waking him up.

"What with all the noise?" Haruka sighed, rubbing his eye as he made his way into the corridor.

"This idiot invaded into Usagi's room and spent a night there!" Yaten announced aloud while pointing his finger at Seiya.

This instantly woke the two sleeping zombies.

"Wow! I didn't know the both of you have gone this far…" Haruka commented in surprise.

Taiki sighed as heplaced both his hands onto Seiya's shoulders, "Seiya, I am so sorry that both Yaten and I were born males. You must be enduring it for a long time…"

"DAMN YOU! I TOLD YOU WE DID NOTHING AND IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK IT IS!" Seiya burst back out at them.

"_I might be able to… if it's not for that damn idiot sudden interruption…" _Seiya stared angrily at Yaten.

"What are you staring at?" Yaten asked annoyingly.

"An idiot." Seiya replied back sounding equally annoyed.

"Why you…" Yaten growled but was interrupted by Usagi appearing from the door behind Seiya.

"Don't blame Seiya… He didn't do anything…" Usagi murmured softly.

"See… I told you I was innocent!" Seiya exclaimed.

"Though he did kiss me…" Usagi added thoughtlessly, making the three boys glared back at Seiya with daggers in their eyes.

"Odango!" Seiya shrieked lightly at her.

"But… I can't lie…" She admitted in a puppy-tone voice only to get interrupted by someone climbing up the stairs.

"My… I never expect everyone to be so energetic after all that had happened yesterday." Mamoru commented with a smirk.

He was accompanied by his two muscularly built bodyguards as they made their way towards them. Once again, Haruka felt the heat within him ignited. He badly wanted to attack him, but was held back by Taiki.

"Don't cause a commotion here." Taiki whispered to Haruka.

Taiki obviously was being thoughtful to the people resting under the big lodge house. Starting a fight here might just lead to unnecessary damage to both the properties and the residents, and that wasn't something he would like to see happen.

"What do you want?" Taiki asked grimly. "Didn't we make it clear last night that we aren't joining your organization?"

"I am here to ask for your reconsideration and also…" Mamoru paused as he fixed his eyes on Usagi who was now holding onto Seiya by his sleeve.

If what Haruka said was true, Usagi didn't want to face this horrible man, as she tried to conceal herself behind Seiya.

"Don't waste your time here. We will never join your nasty organization." Yaten told him restlessly.

"What about a trade then?" Mamoru suggested with a smirk.

"Trade?" Taiki asked suspiciously.

"Yes, But let me warn you…" Mamoru continued in a firm manner. "If you reject both our trade and invitation, in less then three days, regional demon hunters will be called forth by our organization to have all of you captured. And as for Haruka Tenoh, since you refuse to comply on returning, you have been dispelled from Souge, taken as a traitor, you are now on our wanted list."

Mamoru moved on to look at Seiya who was strangely quiet by the whole interference. "Sir Celestial Knight, if you do not wish for all this to happen, either you join us or … have Princess Usagi to marry me."

The rest of the men were shocked but at the same time enraged by his unreasonable request. On the other hand, Usagi was too stunned for words. She didn't want to marry this man, not someone who seemed so evil and definitely not someone she didn't love. But, more than anything she didn't want her friends or Seiya to get hunt down either. Feeling lost and distress, she tightened her grip against Seiya as he glimpsed quietly down at her.

"What makes you think we will give Usagi to you?!" Yaten yelled across.

Ignoring him, Mamoru faced Haruka with a grin. "You want your girlfriend back, don't you? I can secretly release her so the two of you can reunite once more, that's if you manage to persuade them to give Princess Usagi to me."

Haruka clutched his fists at his offer, "I am not giving Usagi to you. These are the people who saved me and Michiru will never be happy if she knew I did such sickening thing to save her!"

"What about you, Princess Usagi?" Mamoru asked, changing his target. "Won't you choose to marry me than to follow all these dangerous people? They are now wanted offenders by the organization and soon the world government. Besides, the Celestial Knight is not a man who will bring you happiness. Do you know how many lives he had killed over the years? It's beyond our expert's calculation! He's a cold-hearted murder… No, a monster! The world will be a much better place without him! Do you think a demon like him could give you happiness?!"

"Don't insult Seiya like that!" Usagi shrieked out angrily.

Immediately after that, Mamoru felt two powerful auras suddenly emerged beside him, trapping him at the centre. It further shocked him when he realized that his bodyguards got knocked out and that the current two men standing at his sides were none other than Taiki and Yaten. Looking closer, they had their weapons, a luminous white hand and a lucent blade, near his neck.

Yaten barked, "No one is allowed to insult that idiot besides me…"

"You can try saying more and I won't hesitate to slice your head off…" Taiki warned next.

"_What crashing powers… these two are demons too." _Mamoru thought as he stood stiffly at the spot, unable to move or speak.

"Let him go…" Seiya ordered plainly.

With it, the two men reluctantly withdrew their weapons, allowing Mamoru to finally exhale his breath. He then turned his attention towards Seiya who was now glaring at him with a cold grin.

"You really want Usagi this badly?" Seiya smirked as he made his way behind Usagi and wrapped his arms around her, gently embracing her from the back.

"But, it's such a shame that she can never be yours... Because she's only MINE to be!" He proclaimed fiercely, his eyes sending a death warning to back away from his lover. "And, no matter what you do or how hard you try, I am not giving her to you or anyone else."

Usagi blushed deeply at his remark while Mamoru trembled out of jealousy.

"You are in no position to even be anywhere near me, so what makes you think you can challenge me for Usagi?" Seiya commented arrogantly as he released his lover and took a step towards Mamoru, making him back away in fear.

"I'll make sure you regret ever confronting me like that, Chiba-san." Seiya added with an evil grin. "…and as a punishment, I'll be sending the entire Souge's Headquarter along with your soul to hell."

--

* * *

--

"What?! Our country treasure, Artemis-sama portrait was stolen?!" King Chiba exclaimed as he shot up from his throne. "Who did it?! Why!? Wasn't there any guards placed on duty in securing the painting?"

"Greeting your majestic, our latest report clarified that all the guards that were on duty last night had fallen into a spell known as 'Love Dead'. It's a magical charm that temporary brainwashed men minds, controlling their emotion and action. Recently, there is an increase in stolen capital treasures around the world, and men who were placed in charge of securing them were all testified unconscious under this spell. In addition, a signature card was found at every crime scenes. It is believed to be left behind by the thief. " The soldier earnestly hanged over a four-sided white card to King Chiba.

It wrote:

"_Under the bright full moon,_

_He's the only one, who can match its beauty…_

_I have stolen the precious Moonlight from this country…_

_Love, (with a kiss mark)_

_M.A - The Sweetheart Thief"_

A couple of miles away, on the top of a flat roof top stood a beautiful lady smiling to herself. As the breezy wind blew past her, drifting her long golden hair along, she looked affectionately down at the portrait in her hands.

"Soon, we will meet again, my precious Artemis."

--


	17. The Mysterious Girl & the Legendary Ring

--

**The Mysterious Girl and the Legendary Ring**

--

"This city is sure packed with loads of law enforcers and order guards. There must be something or someone with really high value here." Taiki concluded

The five had left Artemis Central and were heading east for Souge's Headquarter. Seiya had made it clear to Mamoru that he would destroy the organization if Souge wouldn't agree on releasing Michiru and still insisted on sending pursuers against them.

"Are we seriously going to spend a night in a packed city like this?" Yaten asked in displeased.

He hated places that were under the control of the world government. They would find themselves either running away from their fansor get questioned for hours by the local police_. _

"We don't have a choice. This city is the only resting spot if we are heading for the Souge Headquarter." Haruka answered

"Haruka's right. We only have this place as our stop point. From here, it will take us at least half a day to reach their base. Excluding Death Chaser, I don't think we have enough horse power to last us there." Taiki studying the road map stated. "Besides, we need to find a good resting place for Usagi and me to spend another day in, since we won't be following."

Knowing the possible danger ahead, Seiya had decided to leave Usagi in the care of Taiki. Usagi was reluctant at first, but she understood the situation and did not oppose to it any further. But, Usagi was obviously still feeling upset and responsible for the entire commotion. Seiya knew that she was blaming herself for partially being the cause of everything and worried for everyone safety especially his. Gradually, her unhappiness had affected his mood. The others noticed that the couple hadn't been talking much for the past hours ever since.

"Hey! The Five of you! Stop right there!" A group of uniformed patrollers called out to them. "You five aren't the local here! What business do you have coming to the Jurnei City?"

"Not again…" Yaten let out a sigh.

"We are travelers currently on a journey to explore the world." Taiki answered politely.

"Travelers you said. You must be here to view the legendary ring, the Millennium Star then?" The man, who was most probably the team leader, asked

"Oh, yes… Of course!" Taik lied with a smile. "I'm sure there are lots of curious travelers besides us coming here to see this extraordinary ring. After we locate a good inn, we will be heading to the central museum."

"_For traveler's standard, these kids are sure good-looking."_ The patrol leader thought, studying them earnestly. "Well, I have to inform you that no one is allowed to enter the museum tonight. Have heard of Sweetheart thief?"

"Who?" Yaten and Haruka asked together.

Seiya and Usagi remained silent, seemingly to be uninterested in the topic.

"The Sweetheart thief, believed to be a female stealth thief who steals all type of famous capital treasures. And just last night, she successfully stole the grand Artemis portrait from the Moon country…" Taiki explained briefly.

"Why would anyone want a painting like that?" Seiya commented, sounding rather unenthusiastic.

"What do you mean by that?! And I thought you weren't paying attention?!" Yaten yelled in displeased.

"Well, since you knew about her. I will have an easier time explaining. Earlier this morning, our district government had received her signature white card declaring that she will be stealing the Millennium Star tonight. We had all security running tight and even invited the Celestial Knight to help us in capturing her-…"

"WHAT?! The Celestial Knight?!" The four including Usagi fixed their eyes on Seiya.

"What?! Don't look at me… I am equally surprised too." Seiya told them with a startled look. "Since when did I accept an invitation to protect some unknown ring?"

"This must be a misunderstanding…" Taiki told the group of patrol. "There's no way the Celestial Knight is part of securing the ring tonight."

"Yes! He is! Our district government paid a great sum of money to him and his two companions' knights to protect the ring and to capture the thief." The leader told them clearly. "Let see, they are namely Sir Seiya, Sir Yaten and Sir Taiki…all having Kou as their last name. They are pretty well-known for fighting off demons, and our official has great confident in having the thief confined with their helps."

"You got to be kidding me…" Yaten muttered in disbelief.

"We have no reason to be lying to you. They are now at the museum working hard to uphold the security level and will be staying there all night. You kids will definitely get the chance to see them since you are all here to view the ring."

"Of course we will…" Taiki forced a smile while tightening his grip on the horse reins.

"_Damn you! Impostors! " Seiya, Yaten, Taiki cursed in their thoughts._

"You five got to register your names down before leaving." The patrol leader declared.

"Names? Oh yes… This is Haruka Tenoh, and she's Usagi Tsukino." Taiki began with the first two names.

"And what about you and the other two gentlemen there?" The leader asked, noting down their names on his record book.

"I am Templar Yomi. And the two here are Artemis Yomi and Dark Yomi." Taiki replied naturally.

Both Seiya and Yaten glared angrily at Taiki for giving them such weird names.

_-_

"_Yomi is the Japanese word for the underworld." – Japanese Translation._

_-_

Usagi giggled childishly, "The name 'Dark' suits you very well, Seiya."

"No, it doesn't!" Seiya exclaimed before sighing in relief to see that she was finally smiling.

"Artemis? Isn't that the God of the Moon name?" The leader asked.

"Oh yes it is. Our mum has great respect for the Moon God thus he named my brother after him." Taiki lied bluntly.

"I see. You five can leave now, and remember not to go near the museum when it gets dark." The leader gave them a final reminder before leaving.

"What with Artemis Yomi?! I don't remember my mother ever naming me that! And how many times must I repeat myself? I'm not the God of the Moon!" Yaten insisted.

"And do I look like the Dark Lord to you?" Seiya growled.

"Calm down, the both of you… It isn't easy coming up with three new names in less than a second." Taiki responded in a carefree manner. "Besides, I have always wanted to try using that name Templar. It's been on my mind for a long time…"

"Isn't Templar the name of the world once greatest hero, Master of the Wind?" Seiya inquired, finding the name familiar.

"It is…" Taiki nodded with a smile.

"It's not the time to be discussing over names' origin right now. We have some impostors to take care of…" Yaten reminded impatiently.

"I am very interested to meet the three brave souls that dare use our names in vain." Seiya announced with a sign of ravage.

"And, I want to see the Millennium Star! I've read about it before…" Usagi told Seiya enthusiastically.

"Don't worry. I will bring you there…" Seiya replied, smiling gently back at her.

"Shall we locate a good inn first before heading to the central museum?"

With it, Taiki led the group further down the city.

-

* * *

-

"Are you sure about this, Tiger's Eye?" A tall young man with bright, wild pink hair, asked.

"Hawk's Eye, how many times must I tell you not to call me by that name? I am the now the almighty Celestial Knight, Seiya Kou. And you are Taiki Kou… Keep that in mind." A long haired blonde man pointed out.

"But, isn't this a bit risky? What if the real Celestial Knight shows up? And how are we going to catch the Sweetheart thief? She has a hundred million bounties on her head! She's definitely not an easy opponent…" A male with long pale blue and green hair asked anxiously.

"Fish's Eye… No… I mean Yaten. Quit sounding like a wimp, will you?" Tiger's Eye stated intolerantly. "What are the odds of the actual Celestial Knight and his companion showing up? I mean, we have better chance in getting hit by lighting thrice than meeting them for real. Furthermore, the officials here are paying us way better than what we usually get back when we were demon hunters. And there's no way we are losing to some mysterious girl. Think about it, if we are able to catch her, we need not worry about financial for the rest of our life!"

"You are right Tiger… no I mean Seiya. But the Millennium Star is sure one striking looking ring." Hawk's eye indicated as they stared admiringly at the splendor ring locked inside a professionally glassed up display case.

The majesty ring was made out of pure white platinum sliver, set with a brilliantly cut elliptical-shaped diamond in the middle of it. The magnificent diamond with its fancy vivid pink color was seen sparkling attractively like a cherry blossom star.

"Isn't this ring beautiful? I am so tempted to have it…" Hawk's Eye admitted enthusiastically.

"Use you brain. We will get ourselves into a lot of troubles if we stole this ring." Tiger's Eye responded.

From a distance, a hidden female figure smirked as she watched the three men and several securities guarding the ring.

"_So…They are the well-known knights. Seems pretty weak and unattractive to me. No matters, when night falls, the Millennium Star shall me mine." _

-

* * *

-

"They really do seem to be working hard…" Harkua giggled as they stood by the crowd observing the three men surrounded by girls and signing autographs.

"Autographing, you mean?" Yaten added disgustedly while folding his arm. "They look like idiots…"

"Nice flowing blue hair you got there, Artemis-san." Taiki indicated sarcastically while looking at Fish's Eye.

"You too, Templar-san." Yaten replied back with a scornful smile as he stared distastefully at Hawk's Eye weird hairdo.

"They look familiar… but I couldn't remember where I've seen them." Haruka tried recalling.

"I had enough of this… I am going over to kill them for real." Yaten declared and was ready to leap forward.

"It won't do us any good to start a commotion with all these people here." Taiki reminded

"Taiki's right. We might get locked up for hours for questioning if you go out now…" Haruka agreed. "Besides, Seiya is currently inside the museum with Usagi. I think we should discuss it over with him before doing anything reckless."

"Fine! I will make sure they suffer a greater punishment tonight." Yaten swore.

--

* * *

**--**

"It's so beautiful." Usagi praised wholeheartedly, gazing at the flawless ring that gave off brilliant pink sparkles.

With thick metal railing being set around the exhibited ring serving as a defensive barrier, all exhibitors were forced to stand a couple of feet away from it.

"It sure is." Seiya agreed.

It was his first time acknowledging a lifeless object's beauty. The couple spent their next few minutes observing the magnificent ring in silence. Strangely, the more they stared at it, the more they felt closely related to it.

Weird.

What was this feeling of familiarity?

"I read about it, the legend behind the Millennium Star ring." Usagi muttered, still staring at the ring. "It really lives up to its name. A thousand years ago, a pink star was seen shining brightly in the night sky. They called it the Millennium Star because it only appeared once in every thousand year. It was said that the Maiden of the Light adored the star so much that the Dark Lord decided to take it down for her. So, that very night, a pair of dark huge wings was seen in the black-bleached sky as he seized the shimmering pink star. Upon obtaining the Millennium Star, the Dark Lord had it reformed into a ring before presenting it to the maiden. It was believe that no one could experience the joy and love the maiden felt when the Dark Lord placed the Millennium Star into her left ring finger. Ever since then, the Millennium Star was made recognized as their promise ring, the promise that their love shall last for eternity. The ring went missing with the maiden only to reappear a thousand years later. Mysteriously, no one was able to wear or possess the ring. It seemed as if the ring had a life of its own, not allowing anyone besides the maiden to own it. It was their ring after all… The Millennium Star definitely doesn't belong here. Being locked up and away from its true owner… It's crying…"

"Do you like it?"

"Eh?" Usagi threw Seiya a confuse look.

"You adore the Millennium Star, don't you?" Seiya smiled.

Usagi was taken aback by his question. Why did she had the feeling that she had heard him asked this before?

"Yes… It's really beautiful… but…"

"I will get it for you then."

--

* * *

--

"WHAT?! You are planning to steal the Millennium Star tonight?!" Yaten exclaimed in disbelief.

"Jeez… You don't have to scream. Yes, because Odango seems to like it a lot." Seiya replied casually.

"Hm? Does Usagi-san know anything about your thievery attempt?" Taiki asked while flipping over a page.

"She thought I was joking…" Seiya shrugged in displeased.

"It's only natural." Taiki responded his eyes still locked on the book. "Who would have believed that the famous Celestial Knight would become a thief overnight?"

"Isn't the situation a little awkward down here?" Yaten added. "The fake Celestial Knight is currently protecting the ring, whereas the actual Celestial Knight is planning to steal it? How very ironic…"

"It does sound interesting…" Taiki smiled. "But don't forget you got the Sweetheart thief as your rival tonight."

"I've totally forgotten about that…" Seiya disclosed while folding his arms. "It doesn't matter. I will work out a plan somehow."

"I know you always succeed in getting the things you want done." Taiki stated as he closed his book. "But, be careful of this thief. I did some research on her earlier today. She has a hundred million bounties on her head, definitely not someone to be taken lightly with. Like you, she never fails in stealing any treasure she laid her eyes on. Once she declared a white card, it only meant that the properties will be hers. "

"Taiki, you make her sound like the female version of Seiya." Yaten commented. "But, for a girl… She does sound remarkable."

"Oh?! Are you indirectly praising me?" Seiya questioned Yaten teasingly. "Since you said she's a female version of me…I presume it is then."

"I am referring to her! Not you!" Yaten yelled back.

"You should get going before Usagi-san and Haruka gets back." Taiki prevented a war from taking place. "It's almost evening…"

"Right, I will be back in less than an hour time." Seiya turned away.

"I am going too..." Yaten declared as he followed Seiya.

"Hm? You want to meet the Sweetheart thief so badly?" Seiya asked casually.

"You idiot! I'm just going there to kick some asses!" Yaten shouted back.

"Hai… Hai…" Seiya acted unbothered.

"One more thing… It's regarding the Sweetheart thief." Taiki added thoughtfully. "Be careful of her attacks. She uses mainly love and seduction hypnotic spell. It's pretty deadly if you fall for it. Either you might wake up not knowing what you did or not waking up at all, being trap spellbind forever…"

--

* * *

--

"Che… That Taiki… He sounded as if I will get caught spellbind by that girl thief." Yaten cursed in a cross tone.

"I know I won't… I am not sure about you though." Seiya commented mischievously.

"Hey! What do you mean by-…"

Seiya instantaneously placed his hand over Yaten's mouth, cutting him off.

"Shhhh… You are too loud! Do you want to alert the securities?" Seiya whispered sharply.

They were hiding behind some thick trees and bushes that surrounded the museum, a few feet away from the main entrance.

"Take your hand off me!" Yaten shrieked softly. "You made me look as if I'm part of your thievery too…"

"You can go your separate way if you want…" Seiya replied uncaringly.

"I have no intention on following your path in the first place."

With it, Yaten quickly left and leapt onto the Museum rooftop. The wind was blowing heavily at the upper level as Yateb stood quietly observing the site. The moon had hid itself behind those thick dark clouds, but Yaten needed no light to find his way around. He was well trained enough to cope with darkness since young and eventually developed night vision eyes. After several minute of deep site studying, he finally located the appropriate window that would lead him to the three impostors. But, before he could make his first move, he sensed a presence abruptly appearing from behind.

"You must be the Sweetheart thief then." Yaten concluded with his back still facing the mysterious figure.

"Ehhh? You have a pretty sharp sense." A voice that belonged to a girl spoke out light-heartedly. "You are an interesting fellow…Do you usually spend your nights on rooftops?"

"No… But, tonight is special…"

The strong wind steadily shifted the night clouds away, enlightening the brilliant moon. As Yaten slowly made his appearance before the stranger, with the moonlight progressively landing onto him, the mysterious girl widened her eyes before gasping.

"It's you! Artemis!!"

To Yaten's astonishment, she stepped out promptly from the shadow and embraced him tightly. He could feel her hair brushing gently against his face as he stood frozen at the spot, unable to react.

"Wait… You…"

The girl quickly took down her orange mask that primarily covered her eyes. Yaten met her royal blue eyes that resembled Usagi's, but she cut in shortly before he could question her.

"It's me! Venus! I've missed you so much, Artemis!"

Soon, he felt her soft lips crushed against his. From the moon point of view, it did look as if a mystical reunion had just taken place as it gradually shied itself away.

-


	18. The Sealed Memories

**The Sealed Memories**

Seiya headed casually into the Central Museum by the main entrance.

That was easier than he thought it would turn out to be. For some unknown reasons, all the securities that were previously guarding the exterior had urgently abandoned their positions and rushed inside. As he proceeded deeper into the interior, he could hear deafening screams and gunfire from the floor above.

The moment he reached the top floor, Seiya glimpsed a man flew past him, landing clumsily on the carpeted floor a few inches away.

"Seiya Kou! I've always wanted to try bashing that face of yours!" Yaten yelled at Tiger's Eye who was lying motionlessly near Seiya.

He growled lowly and glared at Yaten who had returned to attacking some men charging at him. Deciding to leave the confrontation with Yaten to later, Seiya glanced over to the moaning man on the floor, smirking.

"So, you are the fake Celestial Knight?"

Tiger's Eye looked up and froze at the pair of dark blue eyes glaring coldly down at him.

"You… You are…" He stumbled with his words upon seeing what he would call his worse person to encounter.

Seiya nodded with a devilish smile to kill, "Yes, the real one."

With it, Tiger's Eye instantly fainted.

"Hey! Wake up! I haven't even laid my hand on you yet!" Seiya yelled as he grabbed onto the collar of his shirt and began shaking him frantically.

After a minute of getting no response from the unconscious Tiger's Eye, Seiya sighed in disappointment, deciding to let him go for the time being. He didn't come all the way here tonight to toy around with an unconscious prey. He came for something much more important as he hurried over and proceeded into the spacious room where Millennium Star was held in.

The room, he realized, was in a big mess. There were a number of unconscious guards, guns were seen aiming at the attacking Yaten and strangely, some securities were fighting among themselves.

Though Seiya didn't understand why some of the guards were on Yaten's side, he did enjoy the scene of a blonde chasing after Yaten while calling out to him.

"Artemis! Why are you running away from me?!"

Seiya leaned comfortably against the wall as he watched with pleasure how the panicking Yaten ran from the pursuing girl.

"You idiot! Don't just stand there! Help me!" Yaten yelled at Seiya who just waved casually back.

"Artemis! Don't run!" The girl called out to him again.

"I am not Artemis! Quit chasing me…" Yaten shouted back as he fastened his speed around the room.

"Though I am not sure what's going on here but I'm seriously enjoying this…" Seiya chuckled softly to himself. "Anyway, time to get my job done."

With minimal effort, Seiya made his way through the continuous attacks of flying bullets and charging men. When he finally reached the metal railing that bounded the ring, he drew out his sword and with a quick strike the metal barrier split into two, allowing an entry in. Stepping through the division, Seiya made his way towards the glassed up ring.

To his astonishment, the pink shimmering light given off the ring got brighter as he reached his hand out for it.

"_You are finally here…"_

_-WHITE FLASH –_

"_I've came up with a suitable name for you." A girl with long, golden bun-up hair smiled happily up at him._

"_I don't need a name…" _

"_You do! And I've thought about it... You are like the Star that shines in the night sky. So, your name shall have a Star in it." She gracefully closed her iridescent eyes and smiled sweetly._

_-Double White Flash-_

"_If we simplify Star… and … Light… together... that will be your name." her image slowly faded._

"_Sei . Ya… Kou… " _

_-White Flash End- _

"What happened…?" Seiya muttered, absolutely stunned to find that he was no longer in the museum, but a few feet away from their inn.

He flinched a little when he realized that his right hand was grasping onto something tightly. His eyes widened in absolute surprise as he watched how bright gleaming pink light escaped out of his fist as he slowly open it, only to find the majesty Millennium Star ring lying on his palm.

"Seiya? Why are you standing here?"

Facing the direction the familiar voice came from Seiya saw Usagi along with Haruka approaching him. He quickly hid the ring inside his pocket.

"You don't look too well." Haruka frowned at Seiya.

"Eh? Seiya is sick?! Do you have a fever?" Usagi asked anxiously as she placed her palm lightly over Seiya's forehead.

"No, I am fine." Seiya gently caught Usagi's hand and smiled.

"Really?" Usagi asked, her face showing slight redness.

"Yes." Seiya simply nodded with a brighter smile.

"I will leave the two of you two alone then." Haruka feeling undoubtedly out-of-place hurried back into the inn.

"Shall we go for a short walk then? Just the two of us…" Seiya asked, after Haruka had left them by themselves.

Usagi nodded eagerly as Seiya reached out for her hand, holding it tight as they made their way down the quiet night street.

* * *

"Welcome back…" Taiki muttered as he raised his brows at Haruka. "Where's Usagi-san?"

"No worries, she's with Seiya." Haruka replied as he dropped tiredly down on the nearby couch.

"Something's wrong? You look pretty worn-out…" Taiki asked while filling his small cup with hot coffee.

"Recently my energy tends to run itself dry pretty quickly…" Haruka answered, closing his eyes. "This isn't good… If this continues, how am I supposed to save Michiru tomorrow?"

"Here, drink some." Taiki offered Haruka a cup of fresh coffee and sat down. "Years back, Yaten and I, we experienced your present condition before."

"Serious?" Haruka asked, sitting straight back up. "How did the both of you overcome it then?"

"Partially thanks to Seiya's harsh training which helped us developed our individual abilities, but most importantly…" Taiki paused for a second as he emphasized. "Your power needs to acknowledge you…"

"Acknowledge me?" Haruka stared blankly at his two sharp-edged daggers that were left on the table.

"That's your primary weapon?" Taiki asked while studying them.

"Yes…got them from Souge." Haruka answered dully.

He never took any liking in using the daggers provided by Souge, and if given a choice, he would definitely use a different set of weapon for tomorrow's battle.

"Guess you haven't found your true power yet then." Taiki told him frankly.

"The power that acknowledged you was the cursed sword, Swift-wind...?" Haruka asked, recalling the battle they had in Artemis Central. "I've heard of the legend behind your sword and the man who once owned it."

"_He was known to be once the world greatest hero, a mortal who was able to extinguish any evil souls whether they were living mortals, demons or even gods. And with his prominent power to control any dominating wind energy, he traveled around the world in attempt to protect the weak. Those who fought him never live to tell tales, no one did except for one man, the legendary Dark Lord. Though the actual reason behind their battle remained unknown, the outcome had the hero gaining respect for the Hell King. He eventually side him and fought against heaven. The mighty hero was later given the name, Master of the Wind and eventually earned himself a place as one of the five sacred generals of hell. When the Master of the Wind disappeared, along with his king, he left a deadly curse on his primarily sword, Swift-wind. A frightening message that was passed down for centuries: Challenge the power of the Swift-wind! For the undeserving being that dares use MY power shall die under it." – Story Fact._

"The legend was indeed true. Many were proven killed attempting to conquer it, and most of them died even before touching the sword. If one was to tell me that they saw someone using the Swift-wind, I would never have believed them." Haruka finished.

"That does bring back memories. I cannot say for sure that I am immune to the curse. I did almost die trying to claim it though. After everything, I was unable to get out of bed for the next two months. But, it's nothing compared to Yaten's. He was unconscious for half a year after his many attempts trying to achieve Soulfire." Taiki recalled with a smile.

"Wow! I can't believe you guys…" Haruka shook his head. "But, I should have expected nothing less from you..."

"We do need to give many credits to Seiya for everything though…" Taiki continued earnestly. "No way was I able to achieve Swift-wind if it wasn't not for him and … that mysterious voice…"

"Voice?"

"I believe Yaten heard it too, when he tried to take on Soulfire." Taiki muttered, recalling the voice.

"_You are here at last! Now Come! Come take me! COME TAKE ME!" _

"After that, though we successfully conquered them. We remembered nothing… It was as if our memories were being sealed up." Taiki finished while staring blankly at the coffee cup.

But his thought was interrupted by the sudden opening of the front door.

"Yaten?" Taiki and Haruka exclaimed together, looked confusingly at the perspiring boy. "What happened to you? Have you been battling some difficult opponents a minute ago?"

"It's… It's …worse than that!" Yaten exclaimed as he shut and locked the door.

"There's this weird girl, though she's cute… been chasing me for the past hours… I met her on the roof… and… and… she stole my first kiss and won't let me go! She persistently hanged onto me and called me Artemis, saying she was the Goodness of Love or something. I had been running in full speed just to get myself away from her…" Yaten blurted out his sentences breathlessly.

"Wait…" Taiki paused him as he try to digest what he had just told them. "Are you trying to tell us that you met this weird but cute girl on the roof who calls herself the goddess of love?"

"She kissed you…" Haruka continued.

"Hugged you…" Taiki followed.

"Called you her lover…" Haruka added.

"And you can't outrun her even in full speed?" Taiki finalized.

"Yes!" Yaten answered back instantly.

"Oh…" Taiki sat back down as he proceeded with his reading, while Haruka continued with finishing his cup of coffee.

"IT'S TRUE!" Yaten yelled agitatedly back at them.

"Wow! Then you must be the luckiest guy on earth. How I wish I were you, Yaten." Taiki stated emotionlessly without looking at him.

"Come up with better lies next time, Yaten-san." Haruka stood up and headed for the basin.

"You got to believe me! I got a feeling that she will be here any minute now!" Yaten anxiously shout across to his friends.

"Hai… Hai…" Both Haruka and Taiki replied in a plain tone.

"I am telling you…" Yaten froze at his midst sentence and jerked as he felt a frightening presence emerged from the window behind him.

"AR . TE . MIS…"

"She's here!" Yaten jumped and hid hastily behind the nearby couch.

The other two men were taken aback to see a lady figure standing outside the blinded up window. The girl did a quick pick lock and skillfully opened the locked window. She landed gracefully into the front room only to find two familiar faces staring startlingly at her. Without warning, the girl threw herself towards the speechless men as she cried out loud,

"I have finally found you guys… Templar-chan! Uranus-chan!"

* * *

"Are you really going to battle Souge tomorrow?" Usagi asked in a distressing tone.

The couple was resting in an opened field, where they could enjoy the cooling night breeze and admire the limitless shimmering stars above them. The atmosphere around them was filled with peacefulness and promising calmness. They were seated with their back leaned against each others and hands locked together.

"Yes. It can't be avoided. Even if I ignore the future pursuers, I can't have Haruka going there alone…"

"Maybe, if I marry Prince Mamoru-san then…" Usagi hesitated to continue.

"What are you saying?!" Seiya burst out, turning around and pulling her possessively into his arms. "Don't ever say such things again, you hear me? As long as I am alive, I will never allow you to go to any other man…"

"But, won't everything be solved then? No one will get hurt and Haru-chan can get to see his lover again." Usagi cried out her thoughts.

"Odango, listen to me. Stop blaming yourself for everything. It's not your fault that we have Souge as our enemy. Firstly, the organization is doing underhanded work… sooner or later someone needs to wipe them out. Secondly, Haruka will never forgive himself if you are to marry that guy in order to help him. Can't you understand his feeling? He had been carrying a grief of hatred on himself for years because he was not able to protect the one he loves. And lastly, you are killing me if you are to marry someone else. Unless you want me dead, don't ever think of doing such reckless thing again, you hear me?" Seiya demanded as he tightened his arms around her.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" Usagi cried.

She had been crying a lot lately, it was strange because she had never really cried over anything, at least not emotionally, till she met Seiya. Whenever she was with him, her emotion tended to overtake her sense. She hated herself for being useless and always needing his protection. If only she could be of some help to him.

"I promise that everything is going to be alright…" Seiya reassured.

Usagi peeked up at him almost hesitantly, tears still hiding her eyes from him. Seiya gingerly ran his fingers under her eyes, clearing them off the misty veils. He then reached for his pocket and took out what he thought that could make her smile.

"I have something that might cheer you up." Seiya told her with a smile as he directed his two closed fists to her. "Here. Choose one…"

"Eh?" Usagi looked confusingly at his tightly clutched hands.

"One of them holds a little gift. If you get it right, it'll be yours." Seiya told her playfully.

"Hmmmm…" Usagi frowned as she stared intensely at his two clutched hands.

Seiya was giggling at her seriousness and finding her expression adorable.

"This one!" Usagi pointed at his right hand.

"You sure?" Seiya asked while adding a little mischief to his tone.

"Eh?! This one then!" Usagi changed her target to his left.

"Are you certain?" Seiya asked again.

Usagi nodded back determinedly. He then reached out for her left handa and gently dropped a little pink sparkling, circular object onto her palm, "Here you go…"

Usagi stared with amazement at the beautiful vivid pink diamond ring. "Th-This is the Millennium Star…But-but… How… and it belongs to the Maiden…"

"Just watch…" Seiya interrupted her as he picked the ring up and slowly slipped it into her left ring finger.

There was a moment of sweet, tender silence as the majestic ring made its way smoothly through her delicate finger. Then, everything went blank.

_-White Flash-_

"_You like the star?" _

_Usagi looked up at the source of the voice, only to find a pair of midnight blue eyes looking down at her._

"_Yes… it's beautiful… but…" _

"_I will take it down for you then." He told her with a smile before two huge feathery black wings surfaced from his back. She felt a gush of strong wind blew by and magical black feathers were seen leisurely descending around her as he disappeared into the night sky._

_-End of White Flash-_

Usagi's vision gradually focused back onto the Millennium Star ring. She blinked once then twice, and finally, she realized that the sparkling pink ring had perfectly fixed itself into her left ring finger.

That couldn't be true.

Usagi looked back up meeting Seiya in the eyes.

"You saw it too right? Those flashbacks…" He asked her with a smile.

"Why is this…?" Usagi breathed, her mind was filled with questions and doubts. A minute ago she saw herself, or was that girl even her_, _with a man who looked exactly like Seiya, but she was certain that she had never shared those moments with him.

"I saw it too…" Seiya added calmly. "The maiden who looks exactly like you…"

"Eh?!" Usagi replied surprisingly. "And… The ring and this…"

"Maybe…" Seiya interrupted her sentence. "But, this ring, it belongs to you now."

He reached for her left hand and placed his lips gently onto her ring finger, making Usagi blushed deeply.

"This will be our promise…" Seiya breathed.

At that very instant, Usagi heard two similar voices spoke together:

"…that my love shall be with you for eternity. Will you be my Light and shine by me forever? "

Usagi couldn't move, she couldn't blink or breathe. It seemed as though time had specially stopped itself just for her reply. The feeling that she had in her during that magical moment was indescribable. They were wonderful emotions of course, feeling that brought tears of joy and passion.

Was that how the maiden felt?

Not trusting her own voice to work properly, Usagi nodded with anticipation and tears glistening in her eyes.

Seiya smiled and, acting on the strong emotion he felt, he leaned towards her and gently pressed his lips to hers while keeping his arms on her lower back. On the other hand, it did take Usagi a while to react to the kiss. But, by the time she remembered that she was supposed to kiss him back, he was already pulling away, breaking the kiss abruptly.

It took her a second to realize that he was clinching onto his hairs, seemingly in great pain.

"Seiya?! Are you alright…?"

Seiya did not response to her cries as he tried to shake off the voice that was banging inside his head. Everything around him turned dim black. He could no longer hear Usagi's concern cries or feel her close embrace.

Then a blurry image of what seemed like a big flaming sword emerged before him.

"_Awake…"_

"… _Come… Come to me, MY LORD!"_


	19. The Fallen Moon & the Undying Love

****

--

**The Fallen Moon and the Undying Love**

**--**

"Wait! Wait…"

Taiki had his both hands extended forth as he tried to distant himself from the female intruder. Haruka who was equally surprised stood beside Taiki, while Yaten hid himself behind his two friends.

"Don't you guys remember me? I am Venus…" The upset blonde took a step closer while the three boys took three steps back.

"Sorry Miss, but I'm certain that we have never met before…" Taiki replied politely.

"This must be a misunderstanding… We don't know you." Haruka added, trying not to sound too offensive

"Yes! You've got the wrong people! So, quit following me!" Yaten yelled across.

"Artemis…" She breathed, her deep royal blue eyes softened and tears were seen forming in them.

She fell onto her knees with her hands covering her face, making the three boys felt remorseful for making her cry.

"Yaten! You shouldn't be shouting at a lady!" Haruka exclaimed.

"It wasn't my fault! I am just stating…" Yaten paused, finding himself unable to argue further as he gazed at the crying blonde.

For some unknown reason, it hurt him to see her in such a weeping state.

But, before Yaten could take his first step forward, Taiki had already reached out his hand to the tearing girl. "I'm sorry if we said something that had upset you. We honestly feel horrible for making you cry. Please forgive us."

"Templar-chan…" She gazed up at Taiki with her pair of watery blue eyes as she accepted his hand and got up.

"Yes, yes! Don't be upset! Even though we don't really understand, but it doesn't seems like you are lying about knowing us…" Haruka told her gently before nudging Yaten to follow with the flow.

Yaten, who had no talent when it came to verbal consoling, couldn't find the appropriate words to say.

'Uhm.."

And, as soon as her pair of sapphire eyes met his, he looked away awkwardly.

"What do you mean by 'Uhm'?!" Haruka growled at Yaten. "Can't you apologize with more sincerity?

"Please don't scold him, Uranus-chan… It isn't Artemis' fault…"

Her defensive words had Yaten feeling worse as he mentally scolded himself for being such an idiot.

"What a kind girl…" Taiki commended while glaring over to Yaten. "Do you really need me to teach you what you should be doing next?"

Yaten glared at Taiki for a second longer before he shifted his attention back to the only girl in the room.

"I am sorry…" He apologized in a quick but sincere tone.

The blonde shook her head gently as she wiped her tears with a faint smile. "No. It's not your fault for reacting this way… since you can't remember…"

Yaten's heart sank a little at her selflessness. Little to his knowledge, he began studying her bit by bit. Strangely, an intimate feeling began to whirl up inside him as he did. Her looks, he noticed, reminded him of Usagi's, but the essence she gave off wasn't of the same. Once again, his mind and heart weren't agreeing with one another. One was telling him to ignore her, while the other urged him to embrace her and never let her go.

What was wrong with him?

"You are Venus right?" Taiki asked with his usual smile.

"No, it's alright. You can call me Minako… Minako Aino." She responded softly.

"Alright, Aino-san." Taiki led her to the couch. "Would you please kindly explain to us about what you were implying a minute ago?"

Minako shook her head lightly. "I guess there's not a need to, since you definitely won't believe me..."

"I…" Yaten began, but was once again interrupted by Taiki

"We will believe you…" Taiki told her with a smile.

"Yes…Furthermore, it will be rude of us not to hear you out… Besides, I got a strange feeling that I somehow knew you…" Haruka added thoughtfully.

Yaten, who was quiet the entire time, finally walked up to Minako.

"I know this may sound awkward but this isn't our first time meeting, isn't it? I can feel it… The same feeling when I first met Taiki, Usagi, Haruka and…" His voice gradually softened. "Seiya.."

His confession had the other two men covered in deep silence since Yaten had not only stated out his buried feeling but theirs too.

"And… Venus… it seems like, I know that name too…" Yaten added, his eyes softening at hers.

For a second there, Minako just smiled lightly back before asking. "Do you want to hear a story?"

"Story?"

Minako nodded as she began, "It's a legend about the Fallen Moon. It started way back to a thousand years ago…"

'_In the ruling heaven, he was once the most widely venerated of all immortals and manifestly one among gods. Because of his calm, serene, and gentle nature along with his moon-light color hair, they associated him with the moon. Artemis had a twin brother, the God of the Sun, Apollo, who was also known as the oracular god of archery and light of the sun. They are a set of twin with two diverse natures and appearances. Unlike Artemis, Apollo had burning gold hair and was a god filled with ambitious, strive, and desire. The dawn shone and the night hid, the brothers normally would never meet and had nothing in common except for their love for one goddess, Venus. She was the Goddess of love and beauty, and was also believed to be the prettiest among any immortals in heaven. Venus had always adored Artemis' sincerity and gradually fell in love with him. Upon knowing this, the jealous Apollo demanded a war with his brother stating whoever wins shall claim the beauty. Artemis, who detested violence, declined the battle which only angered the Sun God further. The bitter assault started when Apollo, along with his sided-deitie, raged a stealth attack on the defenseless Moon God. Not only did Apollo cruelly consume all the divine power from his brother, he surreptitiously banished Artemis from heaven."_

_It was said that after the elimination of Artemis, nights lived without the moon. When the news of Artemis' sudden disappearance reached Venus's ears, she was filled with devastation. Apollo, on the other hand, took this opportunity to tighten his relationship with the distressed goddess and soon made a marriage proposal. Overshadowed by the grief of losing her love, she reluctantly agreed. The news of engagement between the powerful Sun God and gorgeous Love Goddess was widely outspreaded. Soon, the Fallen Artemis was made known to it. The news had the weak and immobilized god feeling soured and enraged…__'_

"But, he could do nothing then of course. He was powerless with very little life-energy left in him… and he was dying…" Minako with a saddened tone continued, "Till…"

It was at that brief moment when a dark figure of what seemed like a dominating man with huge feathery black wings instantly flashed past Yaten's mind. With a pair of midnight blue eyes that gave off a powerful glow against the gradient darkness, he commanded in a deep voice:

"I despise nights without the moon. Come, I shall have it rise again!"

'_The God of the Moon was said to be saved by the King of Hell. The Dark Lord even empowered him with an unrivalled flame, Soulfire. It was during the famed wedding night that the long-lost moon was once again seen. The formerly fallen moon god rose back up and with his deadly new power crashed the wedding, took the bride, and ignited his brother before returning back to Hell. After his reunion with Venus, Artemis pledged his eternal loyalty to his savior. Ever since then, the once gentle and peaceful Moon God was seen fighting in many brutal battles by his lord's side.'_

"Even though Artemis was involved in many violate battles, Venus still loves him for she knew he was the same inside. And they really did live happily…But… It's not forever… The sudden disappearance of the Dark Lord had Artemis anguished. He, along with the other sacred generals, was determined to seek for their missing King and they soon vanished as well. The lonely Venus who couldn't bear waiting for her Artemis' return drank a magical portion known as 'Love Sleep', in which she would awake only when her lover return."

Minako gazed back up at the Yaten, adding, "And finally…She has awakened, Artemis…"

"You…" Yaten started but before he could finish his statement, he and the others were interrupted by a sudden crying voice.

"_Help… Seiya… Help! Someone…"_

"_Seiya… Help him…"_

The pleading cries seemed to echo thorough the room.

"It's Usagi!" The three boys exclaimed at the same time.

"_Help… Please… Seiya… Help him!"_

"Seiya!" Yaten dashed out hurriedly, along with Haruka and Taiki, leaving the astonished Minako behind as she muttered.

"Th-That's Light-chan's voice…"

--

* * *

--

The three boys leapt on and off roofs in their haste as they desperately tried to locate Seiya.

"Damn it! I can't sense his presence…" Taiki cursed in distress.

"That idiot better not be dead!" Yaten exclaimed, fastening his speed.

"Jurnei City is frustratingly big..." Haruka growled as he scanned through every corner that came into his view.

It was then when Usagi's voice was heard echoing to them again, _"Seiya… Seiya… Help him!"_

Using her voice as a guide, they reached an open field and, from the distance, they saw Usagi hugging dearly onto a motionless Seiya.

They quickly approached the couple and Usagi immediately grasped onto Taiki by his shirt as she pleaded. "Seiya… Seiya… Please, help him! He's not moving…"

Without hesitation, Taiki took Seiya over to his side and examined him instantly.

"How, How is he?!" Yaten asked worriedly.

"He's breathing… But something is not right…I couldn't sense his presence even though we are this close." Taiki replied in an uneasy tone. "Let's bring him back to the inn… I will proceed further from there…"

--

Minako was impatiently waiting for their return as she looked out of the window. Her eyes widened the moment she saw them dashing back with two familiar figures. Before Minako could reach for the door, it flung open violently as Taiki rushed in and, with Seiya still in his arms he went straight into the nearest bedroom.

The rest waited anxiously outside, their expressions showing obvious distress. Usagi had her hands grasped together and was too overwhelmed with worries to notice Minako's presence. On the other hand, Yaten and Haruka were unable to settle down as they kept circling the front room impatiently. Their tense action had Minako unable to approach them.

"_They hadn't changed a bit…"_ Minako thought to herself as she remembered seeing the same scene before, but it was a very long time ago.

Finally the door opened silently as Taiki stepped out looking troubled.

"How is he?!" Everyone immediately jumped into the question.

"I am not sure…"

"What do you mean by you are not sure?!" Yaten snapped at Taiki. "I have never seen that idiot in such a state before!"

"You are not the only one feeling upset over this alright?!" Taiki exclaimed, his voice raising a little as he continued. "Seiya's alive, breathing… but… there isn't any existing presence coming from him. It's like a living body without a soul…"

"What will happen to him then!?" Usagi asked anxiously as she tried to hold back her tears.

"If this goes on… he will most likely stay unconscious…" Taiki looked away as he wasn't able, or didn't want, to conclude further.

Without further hesitation, Yaten stormed into the room and held the motionless Seiya up by his neck-collar with slight tears forming in his eyes. "Wake up you idiot! This is not like you at all!"

"Yaten…" Taiki placed his hand lightly onto Yaten's shoulder, a gesture to calm him down.

"Baka (Stupid)! Why aren't you yelling back like always?" Yaten breathed, releasing his grip as two tiny tears flowed down from his eyes. "Idiot… Open your eyes… Please…"

Seiya did not response to Yaten's cries as he laid there in dead silence with his eyes closed and with no sign of movement.

"He will definitely wake up…" Usagi stated softly, making her way across to Seiya's side as she gently slipped her hand in his.

She gazed emotionally at the Millennium Star fixed in her left ring finger before looking back at Seiya, "You said so yourself… That we will be together forever and you will be by my side. I believe in you…"

"Let's go…" Taiki told Yaten softly as they exited the room, leaving Usagi alone with Seiya.

Outside, the atmosphere was equally tense. Taiki was feeling extremely displeased and frustrated with himself. Seiya was their savior and had always been there for them in time of needs. But in return, he could do nothing for him.

"_I am so useless…" _Taiki cursed mentally, turning to his right and with an angry growl slammed his fist violently onto the solid wall. It instantly produced a loud thud noise. The impacting force had his knuckles liberally reddened and bruised.

"Don't blame yourself…" Haruka comforted, patting Taiki on the shoulder.

Yaten remained silent the whole while, not knowing what to do or say. Seiya's mysterious condition had hit him hard. Though he;d never admit it, Yaten had always respected Seiya and he was more than a family to him.

"Maybe…"

The three boys turned their attention towards Minako as she suggested. "Find the Priestess of time… She will definitely know what to do."

"The Priestess of time?"

"Yes…Mercury" Minako paused for a second as she looked away. "Silly me… You guys probably will never believe me or know who she is…"

"I have read about her…" Taiki replied. "But, it's impossible… She's just a myth. Aino-san, this is so invalid…"

"Myth?"

Minako's eyes were seen covered with fury as she snapped harshly back at Taiki. "How can you call your wife a myth?!"

Everyone in the room was taken aback by her unexpected rage.

"How can you judge her from a book?!" Minako yelled, shaking her head in disbelief as she added. "She has always been an indispensable assistant to the Dark Lord, his faithful right-hand man… and she's the only woman who you will die for. Yet, you called her a myth?"

Her words had Taiki dumbfounded.

What was she talking about?

"She still exists! If the Dark Lord is here and you are here… Believe me, she's real!" Minako exclaimed, before toning her voice down. "Just find her! Trust me! She will definitely be able to help awake the lord…"

"I trust her…" Yaten stated shortly much to everyone's surprise. "Let's find the priestess…If that serves as our only hope in waking Seiya…"

"The priestess… Where can we find her?" Taiki asked, giving in.

"You should know better than me…" Minako replied while looking directly at Taiki.

"Me? I don't understand…" Taiki uttered, shaking his head once again unable to perceive the meaning behind her words.

"Just travel…Destiny will tell…"

Her reply brought back a certain memory with a particular person he met not long ago.

-

_Flashback_

"_I guess I can't trick you then. Talking like this with you now, it really does bring back memories." She claimed locking her eyes into his._

"_What do you mean?" Taiki had sensed some familiarity from her ever since their first encounter, but he never understood the reason for it. Somehow, he wanted to know more about this girl._

"_You will understand soon…For now, please take care." she turned away._

"_Wait!" Taiki called out. "Will we… will we meet again?"_

_Ami stopped her step. Looking back at Taiki with a smile she replied, "Destiny will tell..."_

_End of Flashback_

-

"Taiki… Taiki!" Haruka called out to him, interrupting his thought. "Are you alright? You looked as if you had spaced out for a moment there."

"Sorry… Yes, I'm fine." Taiki replied with a faint smile. "You were saying?"

"I was saying that I will definitely get back to you guys and help find the priestess after I rescue Michiru from Souge tomorrow." Haruka repeated in a serious tone. "I can do it alone, the two of you just stay and watch over Seiya… Don't let anything happen to him while I'm gone."

"I can help you to deal with Souge…" Minako offered as soon as Haruka finished his statement.

"What?!" Yaten was the one who exclaimed the loudest.

"I know about this filthy organization…" Minako simply continued. "Trust me onto this. I am the Sweetheart thief after all… I may not be of much help when it comes to finding the priestess, but I know the best and easiest way to get rid of Souge."

She proceeded over and opened the window quickly, gesturing to them that she was ready to set off.

"Wait!" Yaten called out urgently. "You can't be serious… You are going now?!"

Minako nodded, turning around to face them with a smile. "Yes… the sooner the better… Please let me go. I am really happy that at last, I am able to be of some help... Neh, Mina-san (Everyone)! Finally, we have found our lord... So, the next time when I return, we will definitely be together again right?"

Once again, her question had the three boys feeling a strange sense of warmth and intimacy. Yaten looked tenderly back at her and with a gentle smile, he nodded. "Yes… We will definitely be together again…"

With a satisfied smile, Minako put on her mask before disappearing into the night.

--

* * *

--

Usagi gently hugged Seiya closed to her chest. "Do you remember the time when we first met?"

Looking at him, Usagi chuckled softly as she carried on, "Initially, I thought you were an old, ugly man, but you turned out to be such an attractive knight. And, I secretly thought you were an angel back then."

She affectionately touched his long silky ponytail, "I really love your hair. It has such beautiful shine and it's so smooth to touch. See! That's why I was so persistent on getting you a hair-tie and even got myself lost. Stupid me! I ended up following a group of thieves who had bad intention. They brought me into a deserted place and I didn't know what to do...I was really scared… It was then when you came for me… You saved me...! But, I didn't know how you punished them back then! I had my eyes closed! And for your reward, I gave you my first kiss…" she added playfully.

"Then, many things happened... happy times as well as sad. But still, you were always there to protect me, just like a guardian angel. No! You are MY guardian angel. I know how very popular you are, with all the girls going crazy for you! 'Yeaaa!! Celestial Knight!! Look at me!! Celestial Knight!! Please marry me!!' Hump! You are MINE!" She exclaimed, unintentionally tightening her arms around him.

"Sorry… Did I hurt you?" She hurriedly released him but he did not response.

"Seiya, you will definitely wake up right?" Usagi asked softly, feeling her tears escaping again. "Don't leave me alone here… I maybe a burden and a cry-baby, but please don't abandon me. I promise, I will give you less trouble and be more careful next time… I won't get lost again or follow strangers... I will be a good girl...So… So…Please wake up…"

But, despite her crying pleads, his eyes remained close.

"I love you…" She whispered into his ear as she gently placed her lips on his.

Several silence minutes passed, but Seiya still lay silently there without any sign of movement. Usagi reluctantly released his lips and wrapped her hands around him. Once again, she settled his head against her soft chest and tightened her as she cried herself to sleep.

The Millennium Star was seen shimmering brightly at the midst of the night.

"_My love shall be with you for eternity. Will you be my light and shine by me forever?"_

"_Yes. My light shall shine by you for eternity."_

"_It's our promise…"_

_--_

* * *

_--_

It was the early beginning of a brand new day. Haruka kept himself busy with the preparation for his set off, like the others, he hadn't gotten much sleep the previous night. How could they possibly rest with their present worrying minds?

"I'm done. I will be going then…" Haruka carefully inserting his daggers into his waist pockets announced.

"I am coming with you…" Yaten followed.

"Didn't I make it clear last night that I will be just fine alone?" Haruka opposed. "I know you are as worried as I am about Seiya's condition. I can handle this by myself. You stay here and take care of Seiya."

"If I don't go with you…" Yaten continued as he walked past Haruka. "When that idiot wakes up, he will definitely make a big fuss about it. You won't like it when he gets angry."

Haruka smiled, flattered by Yaten's persistence and could oppose no further. They made a quick check on the Seiya, who was lying motionlessly inside the arms of the sleeping maiden.

"They sure look peaceful like this…" Haruka whispered.

Yaten took a step closer towards the couple before looking over to Seiya. "Hey… idiot… Don't sleep for too long… It's so quiet without you and…"

His eyes shifted over to Usagi, "You are letting her cry too much… Baka…"

Yaten finished and turned away, "Let's go…"

The moment they stepped out from the room, they were approached by Taiki who was looking deadly serious as he stated, "Save the trip…"

"Don't tell me…" Yaten and Haruka immediately caught the meaning behind his words.

"Yes… Souge just had the whole city surrounded. They are here for Seiya…"

--


	20. To Believe and To Protect

--

**To Believe and To Protect**

**--**

It was a deep, gloomy place, a pit used as a dungeon of torment and suffering that resided within the entire underworld with the Dark Lord being the hellish king. Tartarus was the place that souls were judged after death and those who received punishment were to be sent there. As a place of retribution, it was where the Hell King's throne stood along with the dominator of all swords, Doom-Will. The legendary sword with its horrifying dark aura and its unapproachable force still ruled the depth of Tartarus despite the absent of its King. At the corners of Tartarus lived the four defenders of the underworld. They were the guardians of shadow and darkness, and the true sentinels of the Dark Lord. Known to be once the principal gods and heroes of legacy, their powers are unquestionably destructive. Besides the Dark Lord and the five sacred generals of hell, the venerated guardians were another reason why they called hell the realm for the dead.

Four shadowy figures made their appearances within the dark pit.

"I can sense the Doom-will's impatience." A rather deep voice spoke.

"Hm? Looks like it's trying to wake the lord… I wish for its success, because I am getting impatient too." this voice belonged to a lady.

"If waking the king is such an easy task, we won't have to wait a thousand years for his return. What a stubborn sword… Does it know that if it fails, there maybe a side-effect on our lord?" a boyish voice added, "I wonder when we will be reunited again."

"It won't be long. I believe our lord will be awake soon." A manly accent was heard. "And if he don't, the guardians of the underworld shall finally pay their first visit to earth."

There were smiles of agreement.

--

* * *

--

"Find the Celestial Knight! Seize him back without fail!" the tall, brunet commander ordered his troops of armed men.

"Mamoru, are you serious about this?" the general with dirty blonde hair asked. "We are dealing with the Celestial Knight in a protected district controlled by the world government. Won't it be better for us to seek their permission first?"

"You don't have to worry about this, Jadeite." Mamoru replied confidently. "Zoisite is now doing the consenting with the governor of Jurnei City. The Celestial Knight and his companions know too much about us, so there is no way we could overlook this matter. Since we already had the whole city covered with our demon hunters and Souge's officers, it will be a definite success to have him captured."

"I understand that most of our demon hunters here had consumed various demonic powers but the Celestial Knight is not a simple opponent. Have you heard about his power and sword… it's the…"

Mamoru harshly interrupted Jadeite's speech. "Will you just quit it already? I had enough of people telling me how powerful or incredible this guy is! What's so great about him? He's nothing more than a demon! And our job here is to eliminate any demons alive and that include him! We have the whole Souge Force here and Michiru! Why worry? Even if they can take down a few demon hunters, they won't be able to counter Michiru. Haruka will never let them…"

"I hope your plan works…" Jadeite said sounding a little doubtful.

"Of course it will work!" Mamoru asserted aloud confidently. "Jadeite, I want you to join the search team in finding the Celestial Knight and make sure no one touches Princess Usagi."

"It's no good…" a manly voice was heard from behind.

Mamoru made a quick turn and saw Zoisite approaching him. "The governor wants us to leave the city at once. He doesn't want any unnecessary harm to be done to the residents. Should we fall back?"

Before Mamoru could oppose, another voice called out. "Sir! We have located the inn where the Celestial Knight and Haruka Tenoh are in. All demon hunters had the area surrounded and are waiting for your order before taking any further action, sir!"

"Good!"Do not attack yet! Bring me there! I want to speak to the Celestial Knight first!" Mamoru ordered.

--

"What should we do now?"

Usagi was in her room as she tightly held onto the inactive Seiya. A minute ago, she was informed about Souge's invasion and their objective behind it. Taiki had ordered her to stay in the room with Seiya while he, along with Yaten and Haruka, settled the offensive outside.

Usagi helplessly looked out of her bedside's window as she witnessed in alarm how a mass of Souge's forces bounded the entire inn. Her three male companions stood boldly by the inn's entrance, preventing any intruders from entering.

"This is really bad!" Usagi told Seiya anxiously. "The three of them are about to go against the entire Souge forces! There are more than a hundred outside! Seiya… You got to wake up! They need your help!"

But Seiya didn't stir.

"Seiya… Please open your eyes…" Usagi muttered in distress.

--

"Good morning. We are really honored to have this many of you here with us today." Taiki greeted with a fake smile as he took a step out into the open, followed by Yaten and Haruka.

Their eyes wandered observantly around the opened area. Most of the Souge's men were armed with weapons ranging from guns to swords and shields. It was not a pleasant sight. If they were to start a battle then and there, the city will definitely be in chaos. Since, to protect Seiya was their top priority, they, without a doubt, would kill anyone who dared enter the inn. The organized troop keenly made way for their approaching commander and generals.

"Good morning! Pardon my rudeness for visiting without previous notice. You see, we are here for the Celestial Knight. May I know where he is?" Mamoru asked in a rather sarcastic accent.

Standing beside him was the vice-commander, Kunzite and the three other Souge's generals: Nephrite, Jadeite, and Zoisite.

"We are not letting you near Seiya! And give Michiru back!" Haruka yelled demandingly. He was shivering in rage and had every intention to make the first attack but was fortunately held back by Taiki.

_It's never wise to charge without studying the enemies first_. That was what Seiya taught him and Taiki had always kept it firmly in his mind.

"Michiru is here." Mamoru announced with a smirk.

"What?" Haruka was immobilized by surprise. _"Why did they bring her along? Is this some kind of trap?"_

"Yes! She's here."

Mamoru clapped his hands twice and right after he did, two armed soldiers were seen dragging forth a fine-looking lady with wavy jungle-green hair. Her jade collared eyes stare soullessly into the midst air as she stood robotically without any facial expression. Circling her forehead was what seemed like an awkward looking metal ring.

"Michiru!" Haruka yelled, taking a step forward, but Michiru did not response to his call, her expression remain emotionless.

"What… What have you done to her!?" Haruka demanded.

"Nothing special..." Mamoru replied while he placed his right hand over to Michiru's left shoulder. "Just our latest mind-controlling device that stores massive amount of demonic essences, and once it's activated she will be granted with powerful demonic strength. Oh! And, one more thing, since it's our first time using this new device, we cannot guarantee her safety. Let me give you a warning. Don't even think of trying to remove it recklessly… It may get her killed…"

"Damn you!" Haruka drew out his daggers and made a wild charge towards Mamoru, but he was blocked back by five recognized demon hunters. Their plate shields were out front as they protected their commander from Haruka's attack.

"You!" Haruka stared irately at his ex-companions.

"You won't want to fight us, Haruka." One of the demon hunters with spiky green hair took a foot forward. "We are part of your training team remember? We know all your attacks and moves. It's useless, just give up."

"Precisely, a traitor like you can do nothing." A bald man stared disgustedly at Haruka as he insulted. "Why don't you just crawl back like a weak dog you are and beg for our forgiveness?"

Suddenly an invisible strike of sharp wind emerged, instantly splitting his thick shield into half. The man fell onto the ground in shocked as he fixed his enlarged eyes at the long translucent blade-like sword. The rest of the demon hunters backed a little. From its lucent light appearance and with its ability to call forth the wind, there was no doubt that they had come face to face with the cursed sword, Swift-wind.

"Im-Impossible… That's the infamous Swift-wind! No way! He conquered it?!"

"Weaklings should just keep quiet." Taiki stated in a cold voice. "I'm sure Seiya would have done the same thing if he was here."

Turning back, Haruka gave Taiki a slight nod of gratitude. He was feeling a slightly touched by his companion defensive move.

"No, Seiya would have finished him off by extracting his tongue. The Celestial Knight is a merciless idiot." Yaten finally making his first speech claimed with a mischievous smile. "I had enough of waiting. We are never giving Seiya to a bunch of flies like you!"

White luminous flame began circling around Yaten's right hand. "Bring it on, Souge!"

The enemies were stunned by Yaten's extraordinary flaming power and Taiki's terrifying mythical sword.

"Don't be afraid!" Kunizite ordered. "There are only three of them! There's nothing to be scared of! All attack at once!"

But before the demon hunters could make their first move, a large-scale of strong circulating wind swiped the front few lines of the Souge units away from sight. Next, a zone of white blazing combustion had numerous demon hunters caught in agony as they tried to extinguish the chilly burning flame by rolling themselves against the ground.

Soon, the whole city was caught in a great disorder and confusion. The deafening gunshots, the crashing of blades and the frightening cries of defeat were heard from within the area district. An additional troop of defenders had Mamoru and Michiru along with the vice-commanders and generals shielded from any coming attacks.

"Air Storm assembles!"

Without hesitation, Haruka charged towards the defensive team. His daggers releasing a haze of cloudy mist which instantly blinded the enemies' views as he dealt several strong blows against the defenders shields causing some of them to fall apart.

"Misty Sap!" Kunizite called out.

Shortly after his call, the hazy air began to clear up. Haruka backing off a little stared grimly at the man who was holding onto a hand-sized mechanical device. It was an auto-driver that was specially design to consume his cloudy essences.

"You should know that your power is useless against us, Harkua." Kunizite declared while deactivating the electronic device.

Haruka bit his lips out of raging displeased, "I will kill all of you! And save Michiru!"

"Kill us? Have you forgotten that you were brought up by Souge? We know all your weaknesses. There's no way you can take our life…" Nephrite responded in an assured accent.

"Out of sympathy, we shall forgive your betrayal if only you help us capture the Celestial Knight and his companions." Mamoru told him with a devilish grin. "And, maybe we might even give you back your dear Michiru."

"Never! I will save Michiru and protect Seiya!" Haruka shouted.

A wide blast of hasty wind sent the border front defenders falling back from their on-guard position. "Very well said, Haruka…"

Taiki slowly appearing from within the distance affirmed. "Your forces are worthless. Let's end this soon…"

"Don't get too cocky, kid." Nephrite stated as he looked directly at Taiki's sword. "The cursed-sword, Swift-wind… Michiru and I shall be your opponent then. We will defeat you and claim this infamous wind sword."

Right after his speech, Michiru began to float up. Her decent green hair and eyes gradually became darker.

"Michiru!" Haruka called out as he watched in disbelief at his lover who was releasing horribly strong demonic aura.

Her fair skin was now yellowish-white and her hair was turning purplish-black. Then, she finalized the whole evolution by summoning huge plant-vines from within her. The Earth around them started rocking recklessly as massive creeping plants emerged from the concrete ground. Both Haruka and Taiki managed to avoid the dangerous vines and within seconds, the portion surrounding them was covered with green creepers. From afar, the area seemed like a scrap of forest.

"Michiru! Stop it!" Haruka yelled dreadfully to the suspended girl in the air.

"It's no use…" Nephrite stated with an evil laugh. "She can't hear you. Isn't our new invention great? Look at the great powers we gave her! She's like a real demon now!"

"You bastard!" Haruka yelled, charging angrily at Nephrite but before he could even reach him, massive spike vines came out of nowhere thrusting several deep cut to Haruka's arms, causing him to loose hold of the daggers.

Haruka fell painfully onto the earth floor and was in a disable state to avoid anymore targeting spikes attack. Taiki promptly came forth to his protection, slicing off any coming greens.

"Are you alright?!" Taiki, with his back against Haruka, asked in concern.

"Yes. Thanks…" Haruka replied while holding onto his wounds.

"I believe you haven't mastered the Swift-wind yet! You can never beat us! Michiru! Focus all your attack on them!" Nephrite ordered.

Michiru obediently turned her full attention onto the two targeted men. While more green strikes headed themselves to Taiki, Nephrite made an additional charge towards him. Needing to protect the injured Haruka, Taiki did not back off.

"Wind repel!"

The air motion around Taiki began fastening their speed. Nephrite took a big fall back as a life-size cyclone had both the embattled men protected. Unbelievably, the enduring huge plant vines went through the revolving wind and seized Taiki's by his arms and legs. The tight grips had Taiki dropping the Swift-wind.

"Taiki!"

The plant creepers lifted him off ground. Taiki could feel the solid vines crashing against his body.

"Ahhhhhhh!!"

"NOOOOOOO!!" Haruka stood up unsteadily and cried out. "Stop it Michiru!"

Haruka's eyes widened when he realized that the 'Manipulated-Mirchiru' was actually tearing…

"Kill me…" She pleaded softly. "Kill me please… Haruka…"

Haruka's heart sank at her pled. "No… No! I will… I will…"

"Can you?" Nephrite questioned with a grin. "You are just a weak human… Look! Your lover and friend are suffering. What can you do? Nothing! You are powerless!"

"I can't do anything_?"_ Haruka asked, falling onto his knees as he trembled helplessly. Then a voice coming from a particular person instantly woke him up.

"_Hey! What can you achieve by crying?"_

"_Did you even try fighting back?"_

"_If you really want to save her, Do it!"_

"_Tears don't kill…"_

"Seiya…" Haruka regaining his momentum steadily stood back up.

"I will fight... I believe… I have the power to save them… No! I WILL DEFINITELY SAVE THEM!" He let out a loud cry of determination.

Suddenly, he could hear someone o_r something_ calling him. His eyelids turned heavy as a vast of dreamy white light surfaced within him, knocking him out of conscious.

"_Are you calling us?" A_n unclear feather-like image emerged_. _

"_You are finally here…" another voice spoke. Now, two hazy blue feathers were blinking rapidly. _

"_You want our power? Come… Come! Take us! TAKE US!" _

"Haruka!!" Taiki yelled out to his motionless friend.

"He had probably passed out due to the lack of blood…" Nephrite stated, looking up at the trapped Taiki with a satisfied smile. "You have no time to be worrying about others, kid… I can hear your bones cracking."

It was true. The gigantic and powerful plant creepers had his whole body forcefully bind. Taiki could feel the tense grip fastening its force bit by bit as the creepers vigorously tried to break his body apart. The impacting plant grasped had blocked his blood flow and his bones were screaming in pain. It was indeed torturing, Taiki could hardly breathe and his vision was blurring. He was going through a slow and painful death.

"No! I can't die! I got to protect Seiya!" Taiki shouted with a great sense of willpower.

Nephrite looked pleasingly at the suffering man and laughed. "Protect? What makes you think you can escape alive? In the very next second, you will be crashed and dead!"

Taiki bit his lips in rage. No! He couldn't die just yet! He didn't want to! He swore to protect his savior at all cause. But, he couldn't feel his heart beat anymore. Was this the end for him?

"Time Freeze…"

All of a sudden a large blue translucent sphere was formed around Taiki. The plant creepers instantly stopped tightening their grip against the entangled man. Taiki, with his half-opened eyes, gazed up. Immediately, his astonishing feeling overshadowed his pain as he stared at the masked girl floating before him.

A gracious smile was believed to be hiding behind that white mask.

"It's been a long time, Templar…"

--

* * *

--

Yaten was caught in a zone of poisonous gas as he tried to dodge the continuous oncoming assaults while holding onto his breath. Demon hunters with fully equipped gasmasks and armed weapons had the suffocating Yaten surrounded.

"The mythical Soulfire! Who would have believed that it actually existed? You are our finest discovery! But even the amazing Soulflame will not burn against our toxic anti-flammable gases. It's worthless if you can't use it right?" Zoisite grinned evily, looking down at the choking Yaten.

Both Zoisite and Jadeite had used their newly experimented chemical weapons on the unique caster. The impurity and toxic gases had prevented Yaten from channelling his fire spell.

"Damn it!" Yaten cursed.

He was by the inn's entrance and was feeling weak from the lack of oxygen. He couldn't stand straight as one of his knees fell helplessly onto the ground. Having to consume quite an amount of noxious gases, his body couldn't bare the chemical effects.

Soon, strong hands grabbed Yaten roughly by his arms. Feeling terribly weak, he couldn't find the strength to fight back. Mamoru and Kunizite then walked passed the netted Yaten effortlessly.

"No! I am not letting you near Seiya!"

The presently feeble Yaten tried struggling in an attempt to break loose from the seizing hands, but his immobilized body was not in any condition to handle his desperate desire.

"Do you want to witness how I punish your dear Celestial Knight?" Mamoru asked with an evil smirk. "Man! Drag him along!"

--

Usagi could hear numerous heavy footsteps slowly approaching her locked room. She tightened her clasp against the motionless Seiya as the door violently flung opened.

Both Mamoru and Kunizite stepped arrogantly into the room followed by four powerfully built men who were dragging the weakened Yaten roughly along with them.

"Yaten!" Usagi cried out in dismay as she noticed the horrible state Yaten was in.

The poison had begun taking its effects against his human body and Yaten was consciously trying to endure the overwhelming pain from within. The four men had him suppressed forcefully against the solid floor as he stared in distress at the unconscious Seiya.

"Let him go!" Usagi exclaimed while glaring fiercely at Mamoru.

"Don't glare at me like that…" Mamoru told Usagi with a smirk before shifting his attention to the motionless Seiya in her arms. "Why…? The Celestial Knight doesn't seem to look too well today. Why don't we have a look at him?"

"Don't touch Seiya!" Yaten yelled and with all his available strength grabbed Mamoru by his ankle.

"Get you filthy hand off me!" Mamoru demanded, cruelly kicking him on the face but that did not stop Yaten from releasing his grip.

The angered commander then ordered his men to have him pulled away.

"No! Stop it! Stop it!" Usagi cried out desperately as she witnessed how the men nastily strike Yaten with their feet.

After several of minute of brutal beating, Yaten finally released his hold against Mamoru. Despite his external and internal injuries, Yaten was still painfully conscious.

"Don't touch Seiya…" Yaten persisted in a weak voice as he once again tried to grab hold onto Mamoru.

"What an irritating pest…" Mamoru flung him away with a harsh kick and stepped violently onto Yaten's hand.

"Ahhhhhhhh!!" Yaten let out a low cry of pain.

"Stop it! Stop it!" Usagi pleaded in tears.

"Stop it?" Mamoru asked and reluctantly let go of Yaten's hand. "Sure. I'll do anything for my fiancée…"

"I am not your fiancée!" Usagi shouted sternly back. "I promised Seiya that we will be together forever! So, I'm never getting married to anyone else besides him and definitely not to a horrible person like you!"

"You!" Mamoru growled.

Usagi words had hit him hard as he clutched his fists in raging jealousy. "You don't have a choice here! Princess Usagi, I will have you, whether you like it or not! From the very first second I saw you, I could not resist the temptation to own you. With such incomparable beauty, you are just like a living goddess…"

He then glared furiously at Seiya who was still in Usagi's arms. "I am never allowing you to be with him! I will have him tortured to death! And no one can do anything about it! Men! Separate them!"

"Don't come near us!" Usagi exclaimed as she held onto Seiya tightly and tried backing away.

With all his might, Yaten instantly pushed himself forward as he tried to lock the men from getting close to the couple. His action irritated the demon hunters as they began physically assaulting him again.

"What a persistent kid…" Kunizite shook his head.

"Beat him till there's nothing left in him!" Mamoru ordered impatiently. He then turned his attention back at Usagi who had her face faced down.

He heard her spoke in a serious voice, "I'm not letting anyone hurt Seiya…"

Suddenly, the surrounding between her and Seiya was seen giving off a mystical yellow glow. "This time, I shall be the one who will protect you…"

The light around them gradually grew stronger till everyone in the room was blinded by it.

"What! What is this?!"

Soon, the holy light was replaced with a crashing and life-threatening energy. The overpowering force had sent the six alarming men flying back. And with the pressurizing atmosphere growing more unbearable, no one was able to move and could hardly breathe. In the next second, all eyes were fixed onto the tall, standing figure.

His dark long hair was let loose as it drifted back along with the wind.

Carrying the golden sleeping beauty in his strong arms, his eyelids gradually lifted themselves up. The pair of darkness blue eyes activated themselves by going through the surrounding slowly. They were seen widening in rage when they caught sight of the badly injured Yaten who was laying partially-conscious on the cold floor.

Then, the eyes of dead coldness sharpened and shifted their focus over to the six horrified men, instantly sending chills down their spines.

His deep powerful voice delivered a death message, "No one is allowed to touch MY precious companion! WHO?! Which DARING souls here did this to him?!"

The voice grew deeper, with a strong rush of killing instinct.

"ALL OF YOU SHALL FEEL THE WRATH OF HELL!"

--


	21. An Incomplete Reunion

--

**An Incomplete Reunion**

--

'It was the raise of the Dark Lord that brought an immediate necessitate for a new Divine King. It was a crucial period, however Heaven was filled with gods hungered for the throne. Hence a night before the next selected king was made known, a hideous attempt was sent out to eliminate the most promising candidate, Father Time. The assailant gods did not banish nor exterminate the Time god but secretly confined him inside an immobilized sector known as 'Death Zone', whereby one will rest asleep for eternity. Underestimating his daughter, they forcefully cast her out of heaven. As the unmemorable goddess falls, she witnessed in agony the cruel incarceration of her beloved father.

Eventually the soul of the nameless goddess was buried with raged and vengeance as she solely ventured through the Hellgate where the four doom guardians once stood. Despite knowing her incapability against the venerate guardians, she persevered with the purpose to meet the Hell King. The goddess daring and determining spirit had the Dark Lord soon taking notice of her and during her hundredth attempts the King finally made his first appearance before her. This extraordinary encounter with the Dark Lord was the beginning of her renowned legend.

The once anonymous goddess was later given the name, The Priestess of Time. It was believed that among the five sacred generals, the priestess was the most mysterious and merciless. She was the first and the indispensable assistance to the Dark Lord, his faithful right-hand man who was famous for wearing a white mask. Some said that her mask was meant to conceal her goddess identity while others claimed she wore it to hide her innocent appearance that would turn ugly whenever she slain an opponent. But it was made certain that no living souls in the battlefield had seen the priestess' looks. It was later rumored that before she kills her opponents, she would remove her mask as a dying souvenir and her face was the last thing they would ever see.

Her limitless killing soon earned her another name, The Time of Death. With the power to freeze her enemies and avoid hits by traveling a split-second back time, the priestess tended to finish her opponents in a split of a second. It was even reported that she can instantly strike any man in a legion of soldiers, but no one saw her move…

But, despite her ruthless reputation, they claimed that the priestess had a hidden, soft side. She was married to the Master of Wind, once the world greatest hero and one of the sacred generals of hell. Together, they were legend most feared couple. Definitely none would ever want to face them in the battlefield, as those who did never fail to suffer the most despicable fate of all." – Story fact.

--

* * *

--

The huge gradient-blue spherical void that bounded an entangled man in its inside was undoubtedly startling. Situated on its exterior was a mysterious floating figure, presumed to be of a lady's. She was wearing a long navy blue gown with a hood, and her face was hidden behind a pearl white mask as she stability hovered into her time void.

"It's been a long time… Templar…" Her accent was calm and intimate.

Taiki stared in astonishment at the unknown figure that was only an inch away from him. As if their distance wasn't close enough, the hidden girl deliberately floated nearer till they could feel each others bodies' warmth. From a remote perspective, there wasn't any visible gap between them and no doubt their lips would have touched if it wasn't for the mask. Her strong but familiar presence had Taiki forgetting about his current agonizing pain.

The figure unexpectedly lifted her right gloved-hand and gently touched Taiki's left cheek. "You are still incomplete…"

"You are…?" His question was interrupted by a sudden loud yell from the beneath distance.

"Hey! You there! I don't care who you are!" Nephrite demandingly called out to the strange intruder. "You are in my way! Either you leave or die!"

The masked figure deliberately ignored Nephrite's warning and continued her focus on the entrapped man. Taiki could feel his weak heartbeat reviving its pace magically as the mysterious girl comfortably embraced him.

"Backtrack"

Immediately after her word, the powerful green creepers were seen obediently reversing their motion and bit by bit, the tight grips released their seized target. To prevent the weakened Taiki from falling, the figure tightened her hold against him as the suspended couple gradually descended themselves. Despite his enfeeble body, Taiki heart was feeling at ease.

"We have met before, haven't we?" He whispered as he wrapped his frail arms around her.

"Our destiny started way back time…" While she said those words, Taiki believed that a tender smile was hidden behind that mask. Strangely, he wanted time to stop for him. _"Please… Let this embrace last forever, just you and me…"_

"How dare you ignore me?!" Nephrite yelled angrily at the tightly enfold couple. "How sweet… The two of you shall die together! Michiru! All attack on them!"

With it, massive huge plant creepers submissively directed the charge toward their commanded targets.

"We got to dodge it…" Taiki exclaimed in a weak tone as he tried to take a step forward while still holding onto his mysterious savior.

"Don't worry…They will stop for Time…" He heard her responded calmly.

Strangely, all the attacking greens became immobilized upon touching the translucent blue sphere.

"What?! Why aren't the plants moving? Michiru! Attack them with your full force!" Nephrite ordered heatedly. But, how fierce the charges were, the creepers' motion would freeze whenever they came into contact with the void.

"Why?! Why can't they penetrate through it? Michiru's power was supposed to be invisible!" Nephrite exclaimed in disbelief.

The unknown figure gently released her warm embrace against the injured Taiki and carefully laid him on the earth ground. The moment she was about to leave, Taiki desperately grabbed her by the hand.

"Don't go…" His tone was weak but desperate.

Looking back at him, she tenderly placed her index finger onto his soft lips. "Shhhh… It isn't time for your body to be moving yet. Just rest here, I will be back soon…"

Taiki reluctantly released his hold as she gradually stood back up and made her way out of the void.

Nephrite took several steps back when he noticed the enigma slowly approaching him. "Michiru! Attack her!" he yelled frantically.

"It's no use…" her tone was cool and assuring.

Abruptly, the unknown figure broke her step as she stood stationary, a few feet away from Nephrite. There was a moment of awkward silence before he heard her murmurs.

"Time Walk"

Expecting something to happen, Nephrite looked around alarmingly. Several seconds past but he saw no sight of anything attacking him; everything remains the same. He turned gratefully back to the masked girl and laughed.

"What is this?! Is this some kind of a joke? Nothing changed at all!"

"Look closer…" She instructed.

Focusing back, Nephrite could sense a slight change with the mysterious figure. What was it? Then, he shifted his attention down to her gloved hands. To his bewilderment, they were bizarrely covered with fresh red blood. "Your hands… Who-whose blood was it?"

"Yours."

Instantly after her reply, Nephrite felt a shocking pain of flesh tearing from all over. "AHHHHHHHHH!!"

Red blood was seen bursting simultaneously out of Nephrite's body, and within second, the motionless man was on the earth ground, buried with his own fresh blood. It was truly a horrible scene to witness.

"Your time of death has arrived..." The hidden figure suddenly appearing beside the anguishing Nephrite announced in a cold tone.

"Why…? You didn't even move…" Nephrite was trembling weakly. "Demon! No! You are not a demon! Who are you…?!" Then there came an unbearable pain as his various bones cracked from within.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

"That's only twice the pain my dear Templar suffered." The mysterious girl unexpectedly reached up for her mask. "Do you really want to know my true identity?"

Nephrite eyes widened with shock as she gradually removed her mask before him. "My real name is Mercury and I am from… HELL."

There was dead silence.

--

* * *

--

Upon hearing Nephrite terrible screams, Zoisite and Jadeite along with several demon hunters hurriedly rushed over to the 'All-green' spot only to find their companion gruesome corpse.

"No way…! Who killed him?!" Jadeite exclaimed in rage and disbelief as their eyes wandered around the green environment. They noticed that the Manipulated-Michiru was still suspended in the air while the unconscious Haruka laid motionlessly on the nearby ground and a mysterious lucent void surrounding an awkward couple.

"You! You killed Nephrite didn't you?!" Jadeite, jumping into conclusion, yelled furiously across to the seated mask figure. Upon feeling a strange and unapproachable energy circulating the sphere void, none of them dare to move toward the situated couple in it.

Mercury did not response as she continued her longing gaze on her beloved man who was resting on her lap.

"Mizuno-san is actually the Priestess of Time, am I right?" Taiki trying his best to get back up asked weakly. "I can't be lying here… I got to go over and take a look at Haruka… Michiru-san too… and… and… You got to follow me to Seiya…I got to protect him…"

"Shhh…" Once again, she laid him back down. "You know very well that you can't afford to be moving recklessly. Everything is going to be alright. Uranus' power will partially be awaken soon. He will definitely save Gaia… And as for the lord, I guess, I am not needed anymore… The maiden is here, isn't she? If she's by his side, he will eventually raise again…"

"I don't understand…" Taiki responded his eyes still glued onto hers.

"You will soon..." Mercury tenderly stroke his hair continued. "As for now, I will need to undo the time void since your injury won't heal if you stay in a freeze time forever…"

As she slowly raised her right hand, the blue void around them magically disappeared.

"You are brainless for removing that strange shield!" Zoisite exclaimed with a laugh. "Now attack them!"

"Really?" Mercury's voice was cold and stern. All of a sudden the atmosphere turned dimmer as the gloomy clouds from above began growling angrily.

"What's… What's happening?!" Everyone except the masked Mercury was alarmed by the sudden change of weather.

"You have angered the Thunder God… Look behind you…" She pointed steadily at the raising figure.

Loud, explosive and booming noise was heard and vivid lighting was seen from the dark sky.

"Father Sky has partially awakened. Good-bye, I will see all of you in hell soon." Ami's voice remained calm and clear as she continued stroking Taiki's hair.

The thunderous noise grew louder as a strong and blinding lighting made a powerful strike down at the standing Haruka. The area around him was covered with earth dust.

"Haruka!" Taiki yelled out in concern.

"He's dead! That deadly lighting just hit him!" The rest of the demon hunters were heard laughing hysterically.

"I won't be laughing if I were you…Because Death is nothing funny..." Mercury spoke out in her unchanged accent.

As the brown mist gradually cleared away, a bright glowing figure was seen steadily standing on his two feet. In his right hand was a striking-looking dagger; its handle appeared to a symbol of a dark blue feather while its unique blade had vivid yellow electric channeling throughout it.

"Thunder Feather…" Haruka's voice was piercing and griming.

"No way… He's not dead?" All the generals and demon hunters took a step back.

"You bastards!" Unbelievable as it may sound, his voice was heard from above, like an enraged god roaring furiously together with the thundering noise.

"How dare you hurt my companions and Michiru! You will vanish under my Lighting Wrath!" A sharp raise from the mystical dagger was followed by an immediate darkening of the gloomy cloud with intensified lighting flashes.

"HEAVEN STRIKE!" the angry god had spoken.

From a distance, several fierce lightings were seen piercing down to the earth and it ended with numerous death crashing blasts.

--

* * *

--

While the atmosphere grew dimmer outside, the overwhelming energy grew scarier inside. His terrorizing aura and powerful speech had the six timid souls trembling with fear. The dominating man gently placed his golden beauty onto the nearby bed as she lay serenely asleep. The petrified men could sense death approaching as he took a single step forward.

"DARK TERROR!"

A scary and deep howl was heard before several black spirit-like cores began encircling around his right hand. All eyes witnessed in horror as the dark spirit progressively developed into a terrifying sword, the black blade with the face of a living devil. The sword finalization had killed most of the men courage; with an unexpected opening of its heartless red eyes.

The devil's mouth was seen widening as they heard its evil voice,

"I WANT BLOOD! GIVE ME BLOOD!"

"Please… Please… Don't kill us!" the four demon hunters were heard begging for their life.

But there stood, were eyes of pure merciless as he raised his black blade at them.

"If you kill us! Your friend will die as well!" Kunizite exclaimed aloud.

Immediately the blade pause its strike.

With all his courage, Mamoru caught a glimpse of his pair of displeased eyes. He saw him made his way towards the half-conscious Yaten and effortlessly lifted him up.

Upon feeling himself being carried, Yaten painfully lifted his lids and what he saw had brought an instant smile onto his badly beaten face.

"Baka, you've finally awoke…" Yaten smiled weakly.

The deep blue eyes softened as he gazed down at his dying friend. "Idiot… Don't talk…"

"Who are you calling idiot…? Baka… Seiya…"

Despite his dreadful state, Yaten argued back with a light grin. He was laid gently down next to the sleeping Usagi.

"THIS IS NOT A QUESTION!" Seiya stated angrily and the atmosphere was once again covered with frightening energy as he pointed the Dark Terror towards the six men at the corner. "WHERE IS THE ANTIODOTE FOR HIS POISON?!"

"After we tell you… You will definitely kill us right?" Mamoru asked daringly. "So, why must we? I am feeling so happy right now! At least I won't have to die alone… Your precious friend is accompanying me… We can die together!"

He noticed Seiya tightening his grip against the Dark Terror in dissatisfaction.

"What so great about you anyway?" Mamoru with a smirk continued. "The almighty Celestial Knight is actually feeling helpless! Just like Haruka… Yes! You can't save him! In the next hour, he will be killed by the poison! Maybe if you beg me on your knees, I will reconsider…"

But his pleasuring laugh was suddenly replaced with a piercing scream of pain. Tracing the source of the pain, Mamoru gazed down to his left.

His hand was missing.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

The rest of the men stared with devastated panic at the bloodstained Dark Terror.

"Don't you dare threaten me…" Seiya demanded lowly as he stood before the agonized Mamoru, his voice remain fierce and cold.

"Do you know why it's called the Dark Terror?" Seiya asked while directing the black blade to Mamoru's right hand. "Like its father, it terrorizes dark demonic powers… But unlike the legendary Doom-will, it doesn't feed on souls. The Dark Terror favorite food is… BLOOD!!"

Another deafening scream filled the room while his next hand fell onto the ground. The devil sword let out a shrieking laughter of joy.

"MORE! MORE! MORE BLOOD!"

The Dark Terror then switched its attention to Kunizite's right leg.

"Yes. Despite having to taste a million bloods before, the Dark Terror still thirsts for more…" His midnight blue eyes glared ruthlessly into Kunizite's. "It's indeed evil. But I am no justice…"

"Wa-wait! DON'T!" Kunizite shouted, shutting his eyes hard.

He heard more cries of pain, but felt nothing. When he finally had them opened again, he was paralyzed by the brutal scene. Some of his subordinates' legs were cruelly sliced off, red sickening blood and remains of body parts were everywhere.

"How DARE you use these filthy legs to hurt that idiot?!" Seiya growled as he sadistically pierced his blade into one of the removed legs.

"Don't worry. None of you are dying yet… I won't let that happen… You brave, brave souls… You even dare distort his face when I wasn't looking?! All of you shall PAY for touching MY precious comrade! Now whose face should I disfigure first?" Seiya slowly glared down at the trembling Kunizite and smirked cruelly. "What about yours?"

"Please… Please don't torture me!" Kunizite begged, backing off desperately. "I will tell you where the antidote is… Please! Don't do this…"

"SAY!" His tone was loud and full of impact. "I PROMISE YOU, YOU WILL SUFFER WORSE THAN HELL IF THAT IDIOT DIES!"

"The cure is in Souge's main headquarter…" Kunizite anxiously poured out. "Find Dr Yoza! And ask him for the medicine for Virus NXT…"

"It's no use. It takes at least half a day from here to our base." Mamoru exclaimed weakly. "He only has less than an hour to live. No one can save him. Not YOU! Not even GOD! ARRRRRRRHHHHHH!!"

Mamoru screamed, feeling an anguishing sharp pain as Seiya pierced the Dark Terror pierced cruelly into his right abdomen.

"NOT EVEN GOD IS ALLOWED TO JUDGE HIS DEATH! HE CAN'T DIE…! I WON'T LET HIM…" Seiya whispered harshly into Mamoru's ear and roughly drew out the dark sword from his body.

"Seiya…"

A soft feminine voice was heard from behind. Without hesitation, Seiya made his way back to the Usagi. He held her by the hand as she slowly lifted her eyelids, revealing her dazzling blue eyes.

"Am I dreaming? Is it you…? You are awake…" Usagi cried while embracing Seiya tightly. "I was so worried! But I believed in you! I believe that you will never abandon me!"

The ruthless Knight was seen smiling for the first time, "Thank you…"

"Eh?!" Usagi blinked, releasing her hold to look questionably back at her lover. "But, I didn't do anything…"

"I saw your light… you pulled me out…" He told her with a gentle smile.

"I don't understand…" Usagi who was still confused responded.

"I will explain to you later…" Seiya told her softly, he then shifted his focus back to the suffering Yaten. "His condition is more important…"

"Yaten!" Usagi was overwhelmed by shocked and distress when she noticed her pale friend lying next to her. "What's wrong with him?! He's in great pain!"

Then her eyes gazed forth to the gruesome bloody corner. The disgusting scene of dismantle body parts along with the heavy smell of blood had her feeling sick instantly.

"Don't look." Seiya pulling her attention back to him ordered.

"Who did this to them? And Yaten…" Usagi asked uneasily feeling nauseous.

"Of course, none other than your dear Celestial Knight…" Mamoru answered in a painful tone. "Princess Usagi, you believe me now don't you… That he's a cold-blooded monster… We are the evidences!"

"No… Seiya did this?" Usagi shook her head in disbelief.

"Yes, I did. I won't deny it…"

Still in shock, Usagi could only stare at Seiya as he admitted honestly. "Just like he said, I am a cold-hearted monster. I never regret doing this to them. Odango, this is the real me.

Seiya gazed down at Usagi and with a slight hint of distress in his eyes, he asked.

"Are you scared of me now, Odango. Will you hate me for who I am?"

"I… I…"

Usagi was not able to give an instant reply to his question. Now, she found herself trapped with doubts. She did not understand him at all. The kind-hearted and gentle Seiya actually did something this cruel? No! It was not true! Seiya was not cold-hearted! He was not a monster!

"Baka…" Yaten spoke up in defense to his saviour despite his extreme pain. "You shouldn't have avenged them for me especially when Usagi is here… You knew very well that she might avoid you if do such things… You idiot… because of me you…"

"Idiot! Didn't I tell you not to speak or move?! With all your unnecessary movement, the poison will fasten its pace to your heart!" Seiya yelled harshly back at Yaten.

Ignoring Seiya, Yaten tilled his head to his right and faced the concerned-looking Usagi. "Don't hate that Baka. He will die without you… He's brainless to have done all this for someone like me…who is dying…"

"What are you talking about?!" Seiya snapped at Yaten. "You are not going to die! I will get the cure for you!"

"Yes…! Yes…!" Usagi cried uncontrollably. "You can't die! Seiya will be really sad without you! Don't leave him… Don't leave us…"

"Is not possible…" Yaten looking back at her with a soft smile continued. "I know my condition. That, I will not last till the antidote arrives... There's no time. Listen to me, Usagi, don't blame Seiya… don't hate him… He maybe an idiot and tend to do silly things at times. But, he's not a bad person… He cares a lot for you and his comrades…"

"I know! I know!" Usagi shrieked with tears. "I will never hate him! I understand… I really do! Seiya can't do without you! So, please don't go! Hang on there!"

"Baka…" Yaten shook his head and gazed back at Seiya, adding. "Why do you always make her cry?"

"You idiot!" Seiya yelled, glaring straight into Yaten eyes. "Don't you dare underestimate me! I won't let you die…"

Then, all of the sudden, two similar dominating voices were heard commanding together.

"A thousand years ago, I saved your life once… And ten years ago, I rescued you once more. I saved your life TWICE, and I can do it AGAIN!"

The two voices deepened at the same time. "YOUR LIFE BELONGS TO ME! WHEN I SAY YOU LIVE, YOU CANNOT DIE! NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO TAKE YOU AWAY WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!"

Yaten eyes softened as he gazed up at the King-like figure. "Seiya…"

There was a loud thundering strike before the window abruptly flung open.

"We apologize for our late arrival."

A masked figure floated into the room while firmly carrying the motionless Taiki. She was followed by Haruka who had the sleeping Michiru in his arms. Both of them instantly kneeled respectfully before Seiya.

"Greetings, my Lord, it's been a long time. Your Generals from Hell are finally back…"

--


	22. His Weakness and Their Separation

--

**His Weakness and Their Separation**

--

"Tomoe!"

A woman with long wavy red hair clutched her fists angrily. "I had enough of waiting! You have two choices! In three days time, either you deliver the Generals Key Pieces or VANISH!"

"I apologize for my failed attempts, Queen Beryl. Though the generals are currently mortals, they have a terrifying strong knight siding them." Tomoe kneeling before his queen spoke anxiously. "The Celestial Knight is horribly powerful…"

"That's because the Celestial Knight is the unawake Dark Lord." A mysterious voice was heard from the distance.

"Who are you?!" Queen Beryl demanded loudly.

"Once heaven most intelligent immortal and the mastermind behind the corruption in heaven…" An elderly with his face hidden behind a hood came into view. "The God of wisdom, Wiseman."

"Father?!" Tomoe exclaimed, staring unbelievably at the familiar figure. "Why are you here?"

"Ohhhh?" Queen Beryl's voice was heard echoing throughout her throne room. "What a pleasant surprise to have the great wisdom god visiting the Dark Kingdom. What brings you here?"

"We are here for a proposal." Another voice spoke out. "It had been a long time hasn't it, Queen Beryl?"

"Prince Demand?" Queen Beryl called out in a rather surprised tone. "You are here too? Why…? It had been a hundred years since I last saw you… For you to personally drop by, I presume it must be an important issue then."

"It's indeed important…" Prince Demand walked out from the shadow with confidence as he continued. "It's regarding your very important Dark Lord…"

"The Hell King?!" This had caught Queen Beryl full attention. "Previously, Wiseman said something about the Celestial Knight being the Dark Lord… What was all that about?"

"I'm surprised that you didn't know about this…" Prince Demand shook his head in disbelief. "Yes, a thousand years ago, the Dark Lord together with the Maiden disappeared without a trace only to reappear again in their new life as the Celestial Knight, Seiya Kou and Usagi Tsukino."

"What?! You are saying you have found the Dark Lord?!" Queen Beryl exclaimed, rising from her throne abruptly.

"Yes… His unawake form…" Prince Demand responded without a change in tone. "And… Your beloved King is still with the Maiden…"

"What rubbish!" Queen Beryl's voice was heard rising with jealousy. "The Maiden… How dare she come in between me and the Lord again?! I want her dead! I want the Dark Lord MINE!"

"Why not we work together?" Prince Demand smirked. "You can have the Dark Lord for all I care, I just want the Maiden. Let's combine forces and have them as ours…"

"Oh?" Queen Beryl grinned, calming down by a little responded. "I almost forgot that you are helplessly in love with the Maiden. Alright, let's work together. But, even if the Dark Lord hasn't revived his power yet, he's still not an easy prey to catch. Furthermore, he has the sacred generals by his side…"

"Yes, all the generals are indeed incredibly powerful but that's a thousand years ago…" Wiseman proclaimed. "Fortunately they are mortals now. As long as they remain human, we have no worries. To add to our favour, none of them are now in any state to be fighting back, and with one of the generals suffering a near death condition, it will be our best opportunity to strike now!"

"Even so… That doesn't guarantee that we will hold victory against the Dark Lord." Queen Beryl added. "He holds the deadly sword that terrorized the Dark Kingdom… We demons here fear the Dark Terror… How are you supposed to capture him without the interference of this fearsome sword?"

"There's a way…" Wiseman spoke with a grin. "If we hit on the Dark Lord weakness… he will obediently listen to our requests…"

"The Hell King's weakness?" Queen Beryl questioned. "Does he even have one?"

"Yes…" Wiseman continued without hesitation.

"The Dark Lord… One and only weakness… is… The Maiden of the Light… "

--

* * *

--

There was a moment of silence as he studied the couple kneeling before him. His deep blue eyes were seen widening with concern upon noticing the motionless Taiki who was in the arms of the masked figure.

"Taiki!?"

"Don't worry, my lord. He's just asleep… I will treat his injuries shortly." Ami asserted while getting back up.

"You are…" Seiya asked with a hitch.

"My Lord, don't you remember us?" Haruka asked anxiously.

"Haruka? This is…" Seiya gazed down at the sleeping lady whom Haruka was carrying firmly.

"She's Michiru… No… Gaia… Can't you recall us?" Haruka persisted with his question.

Seiya let out a quiet sigh. "The Dark Lord's memories… It's still blurry…"

It was at that moment when Yaten sudden low cry of pain caught everyone's attention, making Usagi shrieked out of panic.

"The poison it's killing him…!"

Without further hestiation, Seiya turned around to face Ami. "Mercury, stop the time!"

"My lord… You do remember…" Ami smiled before placing Taiki gently down by the corner, "As you wish, my lord… Time Freeze!"

Instantly, a familiar blue translucent void emerged and bounded the dying Yaten.

"This is…" Yaten muttered as he tried getting up upon feeling his pain suppressed.

"Don't move." Ami told him strictly. "You maybe in a stop time, but that don't mean your injuries had healed… Any reckless movement may just worsen your condition. And, My lord, time can't stop forever. Within six hours my time void will closes itself."

"I will be back with the antidote before then." Seiya declared as he quickly turned towards the window, ready to leap off.

"My Lord, let me come with you!" Haruka exclaimed.

"Stay Haruka and take care of you wounds… and besides…you will need to look after her." Seiya shook his head at him.

"But…" Haruka insisted.

"This is an order!" Seiya commanded in a deep voice before turning over to face Yaten. "Idiot. Remember, you owe me your life… Don't you dare die before I get back…"

Yaten smirked, "After I get well, I will definitely make you pay for bossing me around…"

Seiya smiled, feeling pleased his comrade's response.

"My lord…"What about those trash there?" Ami asked, gesturing to the few severely punished men by the corner.

"Send them to hell…" Seiya ordered coldly.

"As you wish, my lord." Ami submitted, her accent was equally unfeeling.

With it, Seiya took one final glimpse at Usagi, and thinking that she might not want to see him already after learning about his cruelty, he leapt off the window without saying anything to her.

"Seiya!" Usagi called out to him as she hurried over to look out of the window only to find that he had already mounted his horse and was ready to set off.

He looked up at her and muttered her name in surprise, "Usagi…"

"I…" Usagi began, taking in a deep breath before she burst out. "I WILL NEVER HATE YOU! I LOVE YOU!! I LOVE YOU, SEIYA!!"

For a moment, everyone around her was quiet till Yaten broke the silence with a 'Wow!' On the other hand, Seiya was caught in a state of disbelief, thinking that his ears were actually playing tricks on him.

"I WILL ALWAYS… ALWAYS… LOVE YOU! NO MATTER WHAT… I LOVE YOU FOR BEING SEIYA!!" Usagi repeated loudly.

Seiya jerked back a little. This time he was sure of what he heard. She did not hate him despite witnessing his cruelty, and she even made it clear that she loved him. From the her point of view, Usagi saw his lips curved into a charming smile, his tender eyes sending the same message across.

"_Me too, I will always love you…No matter what... Always… Usagi…"_

--

* * *

--

Seiya urged Death Chaser to fasten its pace as it galloped in full speed through the massive greens. The pure black horse was known to be the pursuer of Death for any fools who dared to mount him will never get to see the next rising dawn. It was believed that its stamina and speed was incomparable; which lead to countless brave knights and heroes sacrificing their life for an attempt to own this extraordinary horse. Only the strongest among the strongest could ride it and indeed, it had found its true master, the one and only dominating man who can conquer its beyond demonic pace and power. Sensing its master troubled desperation, it speeded up its stride passing through several thick forests and rivers in an unbelievable rate. This proud but faithful horse never failed in getting its master to his desire destination.

How long had he been travelling? Where exactly was he? How much further will it take to reach Souge's headquarter? Seiya had no clue to any of these questions, but one thing he did know was that he's going to get the cure back on time and save Yaten.

Upon reaching the highest peak of a rocky mountain, Seiya caught a shocking glimpse from the upper air. An immense building bordered by highly-secured fencing was caught in a destructive fire mass. Escapists were seen fleeing desperately out from the burning Souge's base while rescuers were frantically trying to extinguish the enormous flame with useless water hose.

"Damn it!" Seiya cursed, tightening his grip against the horse reins. The CURE for his valued comrade was actually inside this rapid burning building! Was this some sort of sick joke? What are the odds of a mere antidote surviving such strong fire combustion?

However, before he could make a rush down, a girl suddenly appeared before him.

"Greetings my lord… This is Venus before you..."

"Aren't you the one who was after Yaten?" Seiya raised his brows at her, suddenly remembered the watching the scene of her chasing after Yaten.

A sudden loud crash from the Souge's tower caught Seiya's attention as he turned to face the falling building with the intention to get in before it got entirely consumed by the raging fire.

"Wait! My Lord… Don't go there!" Venus called out in. "I got the antidote! I got the cure for Artemis!"

"What?! "You are serious? How did you…?" Seiya asked in disbelief.

"I managed to steal it before those demons from Dark Kingdom attacked the Souge's base." Venus reported before adding anxiously. "We got to get back! We got to get back to where Artemis is right now! Their intention for destroying the Souge headquarters is to prevent you from saving Artemis! I even overheard that they are planning an invasion on the generals while you are out to get the cure…"

"This is all a trap! My Lord, we need to get back to them NOW!"

--

* * *

--

Jurnei City was in a state way beyond just simple chaotic. No citizen alive dared leave their homes. All windows were shut tight with curtain pulled down and doors were securely locked. Fierce and low demonic growl were heard from every corner of the city as innumerable deformed demons came crawling out from the various black portals. The dull, ugly creatures were seen slowly encircling a big deserted inn, with only six living souls situated in its very last floor.

Biting his lips worriedly, Haruka watched in distress at the scary amount of dark demons heading towards their building.

Mercury stayed silence the entire while. She was concentrating on the procedure in treating Taiki. With almost every bones in his body broken, Taiki's condition was anything but optimistic. His critical state had left Mercury with no other choice but to use a crucial tactic known as, Time leap. A time-frontward approach that requires the priestess full attention with no disturbance as any wrong time application may cause severe injuries or even death to both her and Taiki.

Michiru was still unconscious due to her previous heavy burden from the mind-controlling device.

The frightened Usagi had both her hands covering her mouth. She was in a state of shock and disbelief. How was it possible to have so many unpleasant situations occurring in just one day? First was the invasion of Souge and if that wasn't not bad enough, innumerable demons were after them next? Furthermore, both assaults took place with the absent of Seiya. But, what made everything worse was the fact that none of her friends was in any condition to fight back…

"I could sense extremely strong demon presences… What's happening outside?!" Yaten asked in a tone of anxiousness. Due to his poison infection, it was essential for Yaten to stay in the time void; he couldn't leave nor could anyone enter.

"You don't have to worry." Haruka lied bluntly. "Just a few demons passing by… All of you stay here, I can handle them myself."

"Don't take me as a fool!" Yaten yelled back disbelievingly. "Few demons? There are more than just a hundred or two outside! There's absolutely no way you can take them all out in your current state!"

Haruka clutched his fists in exasperation; he wasn't angry with Yaten or anybody, he was frustrated with himself. Small faction of his past memories and powers were back, he knew he was once heaven most powerful god, Father Sky. The frightening lighting god who was meant to be the next ruler of heaven, but he was unwillingly feeling weak now; in his human form and with only little god-like ability. The true Father Sky would have no problem destroying all those demons outside…

"What do you expect me to do?! Stay here and wait for them to attack in?!" Haruka yelled across to Yaten. "Mercury can't break her time treatment, she and Templar might die! Gaia is still unconscious! Light can't possibly be fighting! You are not supposed to go out of that void…! I am the only one here to at least do something till our lord returns!"

As much as Yaten wished not to send his comrade out to his death, he knew Haruka was right. What choice do they have? The answer was obvious, none! Usagi was feeling as helpless as Yaten as they faced away not wanting to see their friend leaping off the window; not wanting to face the reality that Haruka might die protecting them. It hurt them so much to ignore this fact that they felt like dying themselves. They heard thundering roars and lighting strikes but they knew those loud noises were only temporarily.

Usagi had no courage to look out. She was not even brave enough to go near the only window.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" All she could do now was to control her tears. She couldn't cry! She got to believe that Haruka would be back safe!

All of a sudden, she felt a cold hand pulling her back by the shoulder. Her vision slowly drifting away from the room and into complete darkness…

"USAGI!!"

Yaten's yell was the last thing she heard before everything went black.

--

* * *

--

As they got nearer to the city, Seiya could hear the continuous strike of piercing lighting. The city had lost its peaceful existence and was replaced by an overwhelming demonic presence. Death Chaser was in an activated speed far beyond its maximum. It knew something was terribly wrong as it made an unbelievable high jump over the ten meter high metal railing. It's once dark hair and strong hooves were now ignited with fury blazing flames. Any wandering or opposing demons they encountered on the route were either left burning to death or brutally sliced into half by the Dark Terror. And soon, the open-pathway which held the road to the main inn was buried with the bloody and unsightly demon remains and ashes.

The rapid usage of his new power had Haruka feeling extremely exhausted and at the same time frustrated. No matter how many demons were killed under his lighting strikes, there were still countless more. And eventually, the remaining demons had forced him back against the building wall. He looked despairingly down at his exceptional dagger, Thunder Feather. His humanly body was not meant to conquer such strong divine weapon, but it recognized him as its previous owner; the true Father Sky who owed two Thunder Feather daggers, but what's the point of possessing two when his body can't even handle one?

Haruka had no physical strength left to fight back but he did not retreat. If he was to die, he will die honourably while protecting his comrades to the very end.

"No one gets near my friends!" Haruka shouted with a loud sense of determination.

Then, a loud eerie laughter was heard before the countless demons surrounding him were all seen beheaded in a flash. And in the next seconds, pools of blood were everywhere and inside them were ripped pieces of floating demon heads.

Haruka fell to the gory ground. He knew this life-threatening presence, he felt it before but he was currently too weak to overcome it.

A familiar yet frightening figure stood dominatingly before him. Haruka recognized who he was but had no energy, physically or mentally, to look up. This dominating man in front of him never failed to leave him feeling intimidated whether it was a thousand years ago or at present.

"Stand back up like the King you once were, Uranus!"

Yes! He was formerly the next Ruler of Heaven but Haruka knew clearly that the divine throne truly belongs to the lord standing before him. Back when he was Father Sky, it was said that his power matched the Dark Lord's, proclaiming him with the title the next King of Heaven.

"What are you saying…?" Haruka grinned as he shook his head.

He had fought this impressive man more than once, and the final battle between the two commendable kings resulted in one bowing before the other with respect. Haruka steadily got back up and looked straight into the familiar pair of dark blue eyes.

"I am no King… You are…"

Haruka saw Seiya's lips curved slightly before he muttered, "Who are you calling King?"

"Who other than you Celestial Knight… or should I call you by your real identity? The great Ruler of the Underworld, Dark Lord." A low voice was heard from behind.

"You are...?" Seiya frowned, slowly turning around to face the mysterious figure dressed in cloak as he made his appearance.

"How honorable to have the two former heaven kings here with me… Do you not recognize me? I am your forever archenemy, Wiseman."

Seiya raised his black blade, showing his intention to kill the cloaked elder.

"I advise you not to do anything reckless, Dark Lord… or you might never see your dear Maiden again." Wiseman hinted.

Seiya cocked his head slightly showing a hint of confusion but his eyes remained sharp and cold. Then, before he could question him, Venus who had leapt off from the top window delivered him a shocking news.

"My lord! Light-chan… She's gone!"

"_What?!"_

Seiya widened his eyes in a mixture of shock, worries, and anger. Without hestiation, he turned and pointed the Dark Terror at Wiseman. "YOU TOOK HER!! WHERE IS SHE?!"

"My, my… Dark Lord, you still haven't changed one bit." Wiseman commented with a smirk as he raised his right hand before a mysterious black hole with red electric field locking its entrance emerged from his back. "This is the gate to where your precious maiden is… I will let you through… but on two conditions…"

"You old freak!" Haruka yelled with an intention to dash forward but was blocked back by Seiya.

"Stay back, Haruka…" Seiya ordered before glaring back at Wiseman. "Tell me your conditions…"

Wiseman laughed. "The fearless Hell King is actually taking threats and obeying the enemy for this one girl?! How fascinating! Fine, drop the Dark Terror sword! And…"

He held up a long bind of metal. "You remember this?"

Seiya's eyes were seen enlarging with terror. It looked exactly like the cold and cruel chain that had bondage him a thousand years ago.

"Silly me… How can you possibly forget something that was once cuffed around your hands for what seemed like an eternity? Don't worry. This isn't the Chain of Forbidden… Just my new creation specially designed to suppress your strength." He intentionally directed the metal cuffs forward to the speechless Seiya.

"Wear it!"

--

* * *

--

Usagi found herself staring into many pair of evil eyes.

"You are really as entrancingly beautiful as what the legend claimed, the Maiden of the Light." Tomoe commented with a grin of lust. "I can understand why the Dark lord falls for you…"

"Be quiet, Tomoe!" the woman seated on the high throne yelled as she glared disgustedly at Usagi.

"What a hateful face you have! You bitch! How dare you use your sickening appearance to seduce my lord?! I will have you disfigure!"

"What are you saying, Queen Beryl?" Prince Demand protested as he gently pulled Usagi up by her arm. "Didn't we agree that the maiden belongs to me? You are not supposed to touch her…"

"For our agreement, Prince Demand… I will not hurt her…" Queen Beryl agreed reluctantly.

Usagi could not hold back her shivers, she didn't like it here. Where was she? And what have she gotten herself into this time? Everywhere and everyone around her seemed so cold and scary. She couldn't help but shut her eyes hard, her mind once again showing her the comforting images of Seiya.

"Seiya…" she muttered his name softly.

Then, she heard noises of footsteps and chains colliding before Prince Demand hauled her forcefully over to Queen Beryl's side. The obscure figures slowly came into Usagi's view. Her eyes were seen widening with shock when she saw Seiya walking toward her way with several monstrous demons escorting him from behind. His hands, she noticed, was cruelly cuffed against lengthy, thick chain. The long metal rings were seen touching the ground and it was no doubt that those iron cuffs were incredibly heavy.

"SEIYA!!" Usagi called out to him.

"Odango…You are safe…" Seiya smiled out of relief, his dim blue eyes were seen locking with her big, shock ones

Usagi struggled fiercely to get away from Prince Demand, "Let go! Let go! SEIYA!!"

Even though she was tied back, it wasn't going to stop her from rushing over and embracing him. But, much to her despair, Usagi couldn't escape from his grasp as she watched helplessly how Queen Beryl flung herself over to Seiya and hugged him dearly.

"My Lord! It's really you!"

Seiya remained motionless, his face showing no emotion and with an unfeeling voice he spoke. "I am here as you wanted… Release Usagi…"

Queen Beryl frowned, gazing up at him with absolute dissatisfaction. "Why?! Why do you only care for the maiden?! A thousand years ago and even now! Why is it her and not me?!"

Seiya's face remained expressionless. He didn't even bother to glimpse down at Queen Beryl, let alone answer her question.

"Look at me! I'm never allowing the both of you to go on being together! NEVER!" Queen Beryl declared aloud as she embraced Seiya again, making Usagi bit her lips out of uneasiness to witness another woman hugging him with such affection.

"The Dark Lord…" Prince Demand called out as he pulled Usagi closer into his arms. "You may own the maiden a thousand years ago, but this time round… She belongs to ME!"

Usagi shrieked as she tried to back away from Prince Demand. "Iiya!! Let me go… Seiya!"

The empty expression on Seiya's face was immediately replaced by anger. His eyes sharpened with an intention to kill and his fists were seen clutching so hard that his veins were soon made visible.

"You cowardly demons are unspeakably dirty… First, you threatened me by capturing Usagi and now, you even want to possess her?! What makes you think I'll allow that to happen?!" Seiya yelled across to Prince Demand.

"For the first time, you have no say here, Dark Lord, since you obediently abandon your powers and show up… Just like a thousand years ago…" Wiseman commented.

Usagi's eyes widened in shock at Wiseman's remark. Seiya voluntarily gave up his power and got himself seize because of her? Why?

"Why... Why, Seiya? Why did you choose to do all these…? Why did you come?! Baka! Seiya! Baka!" Usagi cried out in tears.

"That's because you are his weak point, maiden…" Wiseman replied quickly, not giving Seiya any chance to reply. "You are his deadly weakness! Yes… Do you remember the Dark Lord dying for you a thousand years ago? He can do it again, you know?"

"NO! NO! NO!"

Usagi was shaking her head vigorously. She didn't want to believe his words. But, what else was there to believe? She knew she was weak. She had always needed his protection but was it so wrong to be by his side? All she ever wanted was to be with Seiya, the one she truly loved. Was that a terrible mistake? Couldn't she be with him?

"Queen Beryl, I know this may hurt you but to ensure that the Dark Lord will have no chance to escape the imprisonment, we will have to do some physical damage to restrain his body." Wiseman explained briefly before he drew out a long sharp sword.

"You should know I will not allow anyone to harm my lord…" Queen Beryl objected.

"Yes… But I also understand that you want to keep the Dark Lord by your side forever, don't you? Don't worry. This will not kill him. It will only weaken his body. This way he will remain by your side for ETERNITY!" Wiseman had convinced Queen Beryl with his cruel intention.

Usagi eyes widened with horror as Wiseman pointed the blade at Seiya. No! They couldn't be serious, could they?

"NO!! Don't do it! Don't hurt Seiya! Please… Seiya! RUN! Seiya!"

But Seiya did not budge as he stood calmly there with no intention to oppose to their cruel mean. The last thing he would ever do is retreat without Usagi. He did not have a choice even if it meant to hurt her emotionally.

"Don't look at me like that…" Seiya gave Usagi a warm smile. "I am not going to die. So, please don't cry…"

But his words had Usagi tearing even more. She was sniffing hysterically. And, the moment she saw him smiling gently back at her, she felt like dying. It hurt her so much. The emotional suffering was a hell of a torture, and no physical pain can be compared to what she was feeling now.

"Odango, Close your eyes…" Seiya instructed softly.

But Usagi couldn't! She couldn't shift her attention away from him as she stared helplessly at Wiseman closing in to Seiya with the dangerous weapon.

"NOOOOOO!! Please! I beg you! Don't hurt Seiya!!" Usagi begged her enemies before turning over to look desperately at Seiy . "Why aren't you moving?! RUN! Baka! Why are you doing all these?! Please leave...! Seiya...Why...Why...?!"

Usagi had lost her voice along with her energy to keep herself upright. She dropped onto the cold floor shortly, but still kept her eyes locked to his as she listened to his final confession.

"That's because…" Seiya smiled warmly at her, ignoring Wiseman who were lifting his sword at him.

"... I love you, Usagi…"

The sharp blade was seen striking down, ending the interval with a devastating silence.

--


	23. Our Only Love

**--**

**Our Only Love**

--

"Seiya… Seiya…"

How many times had she repeated his name? How much tears ran dry just by a single thought of him? Usagi had her head tilled down as she allowed the continuous tears to damp her lovely face. Suddenly, she felt a heavy push down on the soft bed she was seated on. She did not look up. Her eyes remained glued on the bottom sheet as she uneasily backed away.

"Don't be afraid of me, maiden." Prince Demand muttered as he grabbed onto her chin and abruptly lifted her head up so that he could see her beautiful face that was hidden behind the shadows. She stared uncaringly at those pair of dark violet eyes, her mind still refreshing images of Seiya.

He stuck his face at her and continued examining her with a satisfied smile. "You are indeed unspeakably beautiful."

Usagi jerked her face out of his hand. At that brief moment, she hated her looks. It was all because of her silly beauty that caused all this pain and suffering, not hers but Seiya's. How she wish she could completely ruin her face and place an end to his torment, but then Seiya might ignore her, though he didn't seem like the kind of guy who would act like that but there was a slight chance he couldn't recognize her. In the end, she couldn't bring herself to do anything to her face.

Prince Demand studied the maiden seated before him. He noticed that her undone, messy hair actually gave off shine of golden sunray, her watery blue eyes looked even more striking against the dull environment and her fair skin seemed so soft and delicate to touch. It was no wonder they claimed that her face put all flowers into shame. In legend, the maiden was famed for her costly beauty. She was the reason behind the numerous tragic wars between kingdoms, unintentionally bringing the empires down to their knees without the need to do anything. But now, this legendary beauty was his prize. She was the best trophy one would ever win.

He glanced over her body that was being covered by a long silk dress. He noticed her fine curves, from the mounds of her perfect breasts to the shape of her hips. With a face of an angel but a body of a devil, she was unquestionably alluring. It was no wonder no normal kings or emperors could claim her except for the supreme Dark Lord. And, they were no doubt a perfect couple.

"_So, this is what the Hell King enjoyed every night…" _

His mind began having lustful thoughts as he forcefully pushed and pinned her against the untidy bed.

Turning her face away, Usagi shut her eyes hard as Prince Demand kissed her cheek lightly. His kisses and touches gave her goose bumps and sent shivers down her spine. It was clearly torturing. She was mentally controlling herself from screaming the name "Seiya" fearing that he might appear before her, afraid he might suffer again saving her. She did not want to call him, even if it meant to have her innocence rape off and not having the dignity to be with him again.

"I'm sorry, Seiya… I don't deserve you anymore…" she mumbled in tears. "Goodbye…"

"Maiden…" Prince Demand unexpectedly lifted himself away from her. "You are thinking of the Dark Lord, aren't you?"

Usagi turned and faced him for the first time, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Why maiden?" Prince Demand asked, sounding a little grief. "I've always love you… why aren't you looking at me even though we are so close?"

Usagi could only stare back at him, her expression softened with sadness.

"You don't remember me, don't you? I was an abandon demon with nothing to desire till you came and reached out your hand… Your light and warmth saved me. You willingly shine for a hopeless demon like me… I have always loved you ever since…"

"I'm sorry…" Usagi muttered apologetically. "I'm sorry… I can't return your love… I just can't… But, I will listen to you… So, please don't hurt Seiya anymore."

Prince Demand gently pulled the weeping maiden up to a seated position.

"Is he worth it? Do you love him that much till you are willing to sacrifice anything for his safety?" He asked, not wanting want to accept the sad truth that this beauty he loved will never be his.

He might have her body, but never her soul or her heart.

"I love Seiya…" Usagi confessed in a small voice. "Whether he's the Dark Lord or the Celestial Knight I knew… I just can't help it… I'm sorry…I can only love him…"

The thought of Seiya hurt her, and she was trembling uncontrollably out of worries. "Please… Please… Let me see him once more…Just once more… I… really wish to see him again… once…more…"

Usagi couldn't continue further for she was choking on her tears. Yes, she wanted to see him badly, so badly that it was mentally ripping her apart.

Prince Demand gazed sadly down at the agonizing maiden. He had worked a thousand years for her and would never dream of sending her back to the Dark Lord. But, it hurt him to see her in such a devastated state. He didn't want to hear her pleads or cries.

He unwillingly made his decision.

"I will bring you to the Dark Lord…"

--

* * *

--

"My lord…"

Queen Beryl had her arms wrapped tightly around the chain up man. "Finally… Finally you are here with me…"

Seiya was chained against a cold brick wall as he consciously endured Queen Beryl's embrace. His dark vest had a visible torn lining and what lay in between the slash gap was a bloody scar, from his right chest across to his left abdomen. His wound looked undoubtedly painful but Seiya was hardly even aware of the pain.

Usagi, He got to save her! He couldn't be trap here with this obsessive woman, but he wasn't able to escape the the irritating cuffs that had his hands outstretch and pinned against the wall. This was his first time experiencing such helplessness and anxiousness. He desperately tried jerking the chains in hope that it might come loose from the wall barrier.

"No use struggling, my darling…" Queen Beryl told him as she slowly shifted her hands onto his firm waist. "These chains are meant to suppress your power, so you will never leave my side."

Sticking her tongue out, she gave his left cheek a wet lick. Feeling disgusted, Seiya deliberately tilled his face away from her.

"My lord, you are still as charming as ever…"

She reached for the opening of his vest and ripped it forcefully apart, revealing his well-built, wounded body. Placing her fingers onto his perfectly-shaped chest, she gradually moved her hand down to his six-pack abs while carefully avoiding his scar.

"Demon, are you quite through harassing me?" Seiya asked emotionlessly.

He hated her touch, her smell, her looks and practically everything about her.

"Darling…" Queen Beryl breathed, running her hands all over his bare skin and leaving kiss marks along the way. "Blame yourself for being so sexily appealing…"

Seiya's eyes shot up in anger when he felt her hand grabbing and slowly undoing his belt buckle.

"What? You are going to rape me next?"

Queen Beryl smirked at her handsome prey. "I am going to be the queen of hell…"

"I won't be the king then…" Seiya replied bluntly.

"You!" Queen Beryl forcefully grip onto his princely face, her nails digging into his skin. "You are ALL MINE! You will learn to love me!"

Seiya stared unaffectedly back, his cold midnight eyes were stern and confident as he responded in a deep tone. "I will only love one lady, and that's Usagi Tsukino…"

-SMACK-

Her hand harshly whipped against his smooth cheek leaving three cuts running across his otherwise flawless skin. The hard slap did not affect his cool expression as he continued glaring at the raged queen.

"You belong to me! You belong to me!" Queen Beryl shrieked wildly. "Yes! Yes…! The Dark Lord is MINE! MINE!"

Seiya wasn't bothered by the queen insanity. His thought was with his maiden. Despite his cool composure on the outside, he was internally buried with worries. He knew he would never forgive himself if anything were to happen to Usagi. Trapped in his own agony, he was caught off guard when Queen Beryl forcefully crushed her lips against his.

Seiya violently broke the kiss by biting her on the lips. He felt sick from her kiss. His mouth tasted foul, and his lips ached. Disgusted, he quickly spitted to cleanse his mouth, but he could still taste that horrible savor of hers on his lips.

Queen Beryl wiped the blood off her wounded lips as she let out a grin of satisfaction.

"It's getting late, My Lord." She headed to the exit. "Please rest well for the night… I will come visiting again tomorrow."

Her pleasing laughter was heard echoing down the passageway.

--

* * *

--

"What?! That baka abandoned his sword and power?!" Yaten yelled and slammed his fists rashly onto the solid wall, causing his knuckles to redden and sore.

"Artemis! You shouldn't be moving recklessly! The antidote hasn't fully neutralized your poison yet!" Venus squealed as she stared unpleasantly at Yaten's bruise fist.

"This is all my fault…" Yaten murmured, blaming himself for Usagi's captive. If he was able to protect her back then, none of these would have happened. In the end, he couldn't save or protect his most important comrade, Seiya.

"Artemis…" Venus was feeling equally helpless. She noticed the silent Haruka had his fists tightly clutched so hard that his veins were showing.

"I watched him get taken away… Yet… I can do nothing to stop or help him…" Haruka was obviously frustrated with himself and could not stop his helpless shivers.

"Blaming yourself can never solve anything." A calm voice was heard as a masked figure entered the room along with Taiki.

"Taiki?! You are alright…!" Both Yaten and Haruka exclaimed together in relief. At least one of their comrades had recovered.

"Yes… All thanks to Mercury…" Taiki responded in a soft tone. "I heard about Seiya and Usagi-san…"

Upon hearing their names, the two men expression instantaneously saddened.

Mercury approached them, "Save the grief, focus on healing your injuries."

"What are you saying?!" Yaten burst out. "Both Seiya and Usagi got taken away! They might be in great danger now, and you expect us to feel alright about it?"

"What can you achieve by crying over something that had already been done?"

Her words and calm tone silenced everyone as it reminded them of Seiya's.

"But, what can we do?" Haruka asked trying not to sound too hopeless.

"Save them." Mercury answered shortly.

"That's easy for you to say." Yaten responded agitatedly. "Save them?! Do you think I will be wasting my time here if I know a way to?!"

"Artemis…" Venus gently placed her hand on Yaten's shoulder, in hope to calm him down.

"Yes, we got to find a way into the Dark Kingdom…" Taiki agreed.

"But, it's impossible to enter the Dark Kingdom without the Portal Bypass." Haruka shook his head.

"No way?" Mercury questioned, her voice grew louder. "Do you not remember why I am the Dark Lord's indispensable assistance?"

The room instantly turned quiet till Mercury made another surprising speech, "How long are you intending to keep hiding, Hermes?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a mischievous laughter was heard before a man dressed in a black cloak magically surface in the midst of the front room.

"You haven't changed one bit, Sis…"

All eyes were now set on the floating man. Releasing his hood, he revealed his long, light-sapphire hair and crimson eyes.

"WAAAAAAAA!!" He let out an unexpected scream catching everyone by surprise. Then, he made a quick dash and hugged Venus, "I missed you so much Venus dear!!"

"Eh? Hermes?" Venus exclaimed in disbelief.

"Hey! Get your hands off her…" Yaten violently pulled the stranger back. "Who the hell are you?!"

Hermes looked confusingly at Yaten before releasing Venus, "You don't remember me, your love rival? Are you sick Artemis?" he conveniently placed his hand low over Yaten's bow.

"Don't touch me!" Yaten smacked his hand away, "What are you talking about? I don't even know you and don't you dare go near Minako again!"

Venus giggled lightly. _"What a memorable scene."_

Hermes let out a dramatic cry, "AHHHHH!! Just because we got separated for a thousand years, you have forgotten about me? How hurtful!! How hurtful, Artemis!"

Haruka stood up and patted Hermes' by the shoulder. "Don't cry, I remembered you."

"Uranus! You are still the best! Unlike someone…" Hermes deliberately hugged Haruka tearfully.

"Who is he?" Taiki asked shortly.

"My stupid brother, Hermes." Mercury answered simply before glaring back at Hermes. "Can you stop fooling around? I've got a favour to ask…"

Hermes's expression instantaneously brightened up as he flew over to Mercury asking for an embrace.

"Time walk." Mercury disappeared instantly leaving Hermes hugging the air.

"Why do you always avoid me, sis?" Hermes pouted

"Because I never like your touch." Mercury replied frankly.

"That's so hurtful, sis… You allow this windy-boy to touch you but not your precious brother?" Hermes pointing at Taiki exclaimed.

"Windy-boy?" Taiki feeling a little agitated murmured.

"Stop your nonsense…" Mercury letting out a sigh continued. "You should know our lord location, don't you?"

Hermes looked seriously back at his masked sister and smirked "Will I dare to show up before you if I didn't?"

"What?!" Yaten surprisingly shot up. "You are telling me a fool like him knows the way into the Dark kingdom?!"

"Hey!" Hermes shouted back. "Who are you calling a fool, you shrimp!!"

"What did you say?!"

This was the beginning of another childish fight.

Venus was laughing softly.

Haruka without a care sat back down.

Taiki let out a sigh.

"Hermes, do you wish to try dying under my freeze time?" Mercury's suddenly spoke in a cold voice.

Hermes could feel her sister chilly stare as he immediately retreated away from Yaten.

"If you are always this serious, no one will ever want you, Sis…" Hermes commented.

"I'm already married!" Mercury finally losing her cool exclaimed.

"Oh yes!" Hermes sighed. "Till now, I still find it hard to believe that you are actually married…" Hermes then glanced over to Taiki. "Poor man, is she always this fierce when she's with you?"

"Mercury is a sweet girl." Taiki replied with a smile making Mercury blushed behind her mask.

"Sweet? my sister?" Hermes doubtfully gazed back at Mercury.

"I will really kill you…" Mercury warned out of irritation.

"Hermes! Can you please be serious just for once? We really need your help to save our lord…" Haruka recalling Hermes abilities exclaimed.

Hermes let out another sigh replied, "Though I hate bothersome matters, I am seriously here to help."

"Then, get serious already, you fool!" Everyone shrieked in their thoughts.

"Are you sure you can get us into the Dark Kingdom?" Yaten asked doubtfully. "You don't look very capable."

"Hey, hey… That's a great insult to the once superb God of Travel." Hermes proclaimed with his head high up.

"God of Travel? You?" Yaten chuckled disbelievingly.

"It's true." Mercury spoke in her usual tone. "He may look stupid, but he's indeed the legendary Grim Reaper of hell."

Both Yaten and Taiki stared in absolute disbelief at the laughing Hermes. They knew about the legend behind the God of Travel who later sided hell and became the horrifying Soul Ripper.

"_The Grim Reaper myth is definitely a false then._" Yaten nodded to himself in his thought.

--

"_In mythology, Hermes was once a lowly-ranked god. The god of travel worked as a messenger and translator from gods to humans. He was the elder son of Father Time and the brother of Hell deadliest general, the Priestess of Time. Many heavenly-beings distrusted him due to the siblings' relation and underestimated his power as a mere messenger god. _

_Eventually, the isolated Hermes left Heaven to seek for his sister presence. Upon reaching the HellGate, he was challenged by the Hell Breaker, Lady Travel. She said: "No outer being can enter hell alive without my key. For the great priestess, I will not stop nor will I help you. If you can break through the gate with your own ability, I will permit your entry." _

_By far, the former god of travel is the first and believingly last immortal ever to enter and leave hell alive without hindrance. Impressed by his capability, the Dark Lord gave his consent and allowed him to reside with his sister in hell._

_Later in the myth, he was invoked as the one of many shifts; blandly cunning, a robber, a bringer of dreams, a watcher by night, a thief at the gate, one who show forth superb aptitudes among the deathless gods. And thus, the Grim Reaper was born. _

_Death is usually given the name, the Grim Reaper. Like his sister, he was portrayed in a black-hooded gown; only his eyes can be seen as he carried a large scythe, it was also believed that he existed as a skeleton figure. He was the death god that escorted or seized the dead into their afterlife, Hell. It was said that no soul can escape the Grim Reaper for those who dare oppose him will have their souls ripped apart by his deadly scythe. Hence, they gave him another horrifying title, The Soul Ripper." –Story Fact._

_--_

"No good…" Hermes sounding a little troubled continued. "I got overexcited and wasted too much time here… The hell guardians are probably cursing me right now."

"They are always cursing you…" Mercury responded unfeelingly. "Since when do you care?"

"You are right." Hermes let out a small chuckled before slowly reaching for his hood. "Sorry guys, fun time over…"

"The real Grim Reaper has finally arrived…" Mercury announced with a hidden smile of satisfaction.

As he placed the hood over his head, an awkward energy began generating throughout the room. His right hand was seen losing its flesh phenomenally before a huge scythe ascended from the solid ground. After his skeleton hand seized the long, curve blade, Hermes instantly dealt a quick vertical slash to the mid air.

"Dark Fissure." A rough, unrecognized voice spoke as the slashed portion magically split apart, revealing a black opening. The Grim Reaper red eyes were seen glowing luminously behind the dark hood and with his boned finger, he pointed at the mysterious portal.

"The entry into Dark Kingdom."

"_He's really the Soul Ripper…"_ Yaten and Taiki blinked together, overwhelmed by shocked.

The room was covered with intense silence. Then, they heard his low-cracked voice again.

"Come. Enter… Enter into the Soul Ripper's Hunt. My hunt for the dead…"

--

* * *

--

It was a damp and gloomy pavement with only several small fire torches lightening up the dim pathway. At the end of the long walkway, Usagi saw a big iron door. She stood a short distance away from Prince Demand as he reluctantly slipped a bronze key into the lock and the door swung open slowly.

Immediately, Usagi made a desperate dash into the room. She could not hear the door closed with a loud bang nor was she able to see anything else besides the handsome man pinned against the wall.

"SEIYA!!"

"Odango?!" Seiya muttered, utterly surprised to see her embracing him.

"Seiya… Seiya… Seiya…" She called out his name while burying her wet face against his chest.

"Odango… Am I dreaming? Please tell me you are really here…"

And if it's a dream, he didn't want to wake up from it.

"Seiya… I'm real! I'm real!" She exclaimed, gazing up at him with a pair of watery eyes. "I've missed you so much…Seiya…"

"Me too, Odango..." He whispered affectionately back.

"Seiya..." Usagi breathed his name and was quiet for the next second as her attention shifted from his charming face to the dreadful scar across his chest.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" She cried softly, her voice filled with pain and remorse. "It's my fault… It's all my fault… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

"No! No… It's isn't… Please stop blaming yourself…" Seiya convinced gently.

The pain done to his body was nothing compared to his current internal ache. It hurt him more to see her tears.

"Don't cry… You see, I'm alright…" He told her with a gentle smile.

Usagi shook her head in disbelief before gently placing her fingers near his open wound.

"Does it hurt?" she asked in a small voice.

"No… It doesn't…" he smiled faintly.

"You are lying! It must have hurt! It hurt, doesn't it? I know it does…" she cried.

"It doesn't hurt, really…" Seiya insisted, pressing his lips lightly against her forehead. "Don't cry… Your cries hurt me…"

Not wanting to upset him further, Usagi obediently wiped away her tears and with a small smile, she gazed back up at him.

"That's better…" he smiled charmingly back at her.

It was then when Usagi noted the three slap cuts on his left cheek and the little bloodstain on his side-lips. "Seiya, your face...?"

"It's nothing…" He smiled lightly but avoided her eyes.

There was no way he could tell her the truth; that he was force to kiss an ugly witch and endure her physical harassment.

"You are lying again…" Usagi muttered, finally noticing the several kiss marks on his neck and torso.

"She did this to you, didn't she?" Her voice was heard shaking in discomfort.

She could feel various complex emotions surfacing within her; anger, sadness, displeases, jealousy, pain…

"Odango… I…"

His sentence was cut off when Usagi edged herself up by the tip of her toes and kissed him, stopping him from finishing his sentence.

Her quick and unexpected action had Seiya unable to react, but eventually his mouth caught her slightly parted lips and it involved into a sensuous kiss. She gently pushed herself closer to him till their bodies were touching each others. Seiya was taken in surprise by her sudden boldness, but still, he kissed her with all the passion that he could, his tongue licking across her soft, soft lips, asking her to open her mouth more to let him in. She willingly gave in, parting her lips to let their tongues meet for the first time.

He swirled his tongue in her mouth, the wetness and heat of the kiss gave him another sensation, causing him to moan deep in his throat. Usagi's hands made their way to the back of his neck while her tongue danced gracefully with his. It was as though their lips along with their bodies were meant for each others. The sensational kiss triggered a hidden lust within them intensely heating up their bodies. No doubt they would have gone further than just kissing if it was not for their present enslaved state.

A tear silently escaped and drifted off Usagi's eyes. The longer they kissed the more painful she felt. This was their last kiss. Deep inside she knew she might not be able to see him again.

Seiya abruptly broke the kiss upon noticing his lover's tears. His dark blue eyes softened with similar sorrow as they gazed agonizingly and with their lips barely parted, they were inhaling each others warm air.

"I… I…" Usagi broke the excruciating silence.

She tightened her embrace around Seiya's neck and pulled him closer. "I can't bear to let you go! I … don't want to, Seiya…"

"Usagi…" he whispered her name affectionately. "Please don't cry. Didn't Dark promise Light that he will never leave her?"

Her eyes widened upon remembering that promise.

"But, they said Dark and Light can never be together. Its fate… When there is Dark, there can never be Light… I-I'm really your weakness…"

"No… It's not like this, Usagi!" Seiya opposed eagerly. "Why did Dark exist? Because Light was there. Dark can't live without Light's shine and Light can't stay without Dark's cast. When there's Dark, there will definitely be Light…"

Usagi could feel his soft breath brushing against her ears as he continued softly. "Can't you see? You are not my weakness. You are my strength, Light."

"But-but, Dark died for Light in the end… I don't want you to die for me again…!" Usagi insisted.

"I didn't die, whether it's a thousand years ago or now… I will never die on you." Seiya stated softly. "Like I said, Dark will forever be with Light. Do you not remember our promise?"

The Millennium Star gave off a small spark as the couple spoke together. "That our love will last for eternity and we will be together forever."

Usagi could feel her memory returning to her as she regretfully made a shocking confession.

"Dark! Sorry… I'm sorry for trying to break our promise… I was the one… A thousand years ago… A thousand years ago… I was the one who erased your memories along with mine… I didn't want to cause anymore harm to you. When I saw those swords pierced through you, my mind went blank… I didn't know what I was doing… It's happening, it's happening all over again! You got hurt again because of me… I'm sorry… I'm sorry, I broke our promise… I broke your trust… Don't hate me… Please don't hate me…" Usagi chocked on her tears.

"I will never hate you… Please don't say such things… Your apology hurts me… It really does…"

How Seiya wish he could embrace her and wipe away those sad tears of hers. He felt like crying himself, but he never did and never will for he knew it will only upset Usagi further.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" Usagi continued her apologies.

"Don't… Don't apologize… I've never blame you. It's not your fault… please believe me… It's not your fault…I did everything because I want to… because… because I love you, Light… I've always loved you… Even if you erased my memories or leave me, I will eventually remember and find you. It doesn't matter whether you are Light or Usagi, I will still love you… only you… forever…" Seiya whispered, pressing his lips against her wet cheeks.

"Me too! Me too!" Usagi cried earnestly. "I've always love you, Dark! Always…"

"Don't leave me alone. I've finally found you, but you might disappear again. It's lonely… It's so lonely and empty without you. Please, don't abandon me again…" Seiya pleaded, his voice hinting fear.

His pled was like a stab to her heart. Yes! It was a torment to realize the pain she had caused him for not keeping their promise. It was indeed suffering. He wasn't crying physically, he was crying internally. All these while, he had been carrying this hidden grief in him.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…I will never leave you again! I can't bear to! No matter what, we will be together… I swear… I will never break it again…"

"Light…" Seiya smiled adoringly at the sweet maiden who was glued onto him. "I love you."

"Me too! I love you, Dark." These three simple words were said with such overwhelming passion and affection. It was real. They meant it, they really did.

Then, the iron door was pushed opened harshly. Usagi tightened her grasped around her lover, fearing he might get taken away from her. Seiya glared sternly at the entrance as Queen Beryl and Wiseman with several demons made their way in.

"I was right… The Maiden is really here…" Wiseman smirked.

Queen Beryl glared angrily at the Dark Lord and the Maiden as she ordered.

"Separate them!"

--


	24. The Rise of the Dark Lord

--

**The Rise of the Dark Lord**

--

-WHACK!-

-WHACK!-

-WHACK!-

"NO!! STOP!! STOP IT!!"

Usagi's cries fell into deaf ears. She was forcefully held back from her captive lover. It was a moment of devastation as she watched helplessly how two gigantic demons cruelly punished Seiya with long thick whips.

"Please… Please… Don't hurt him anymore…" She pleaded.

Her lovely face was already damped with excessive tears. She gazed down not wanting to see Seiya's torment, badly beaten up and bloody. She could feel her heart ached at each landing stroke. If there was a way to end her life then, she would have done it. To die is a whole lot better than to observe his suffering.

"Hey!" Seiya called out while glaring at the enemies. Despite the severe beating, he still retained his stern and confident composure with his voice clear and deep. "Is that all you demons can do? It barely itched."

"Seiya…" Usagi shook her head in disbelief.

Why was he provoking them at a time like this? Then, his eyes met hers. It was his way of comfort. He was convincing her that he was fine and telling her not to cry but his affection had Usagi crying even more.

Her guilt was killing her. Everyone claimed that she was his weakness, the Hell King deadly curse. She was the reason for his fall, the cause for his disappearance and suffering. But, he loved her and she loved him. To avoid him, she erased their memories thinking that without these recollections, love would never come in between them. Without her and without love he would have no weakness or suffering.

She broke their promise and his trust. She didn't deserve him! She was the worse!

"HAHAHAHA!!" Wiseman laughed. "As expected from the King of Hell, such physical assault serve no pain to you. I've got to come up with a better punishment then."

He shifted his attention over to Usagi as he grabbed Usagi by her chin, "I know what will hurt you... She's indeed a beauty, isn't she?"

"Don't you dare hurt her, you old bastard!" Seiya urged forward but the binding cuffs forbid his desperate desire.

"Does it hurt now, Dark Lord?" Wiseman smirked knowingly. Usagi stared expressionlessly at the elder who was gripping onto her face.

"You love her pureness, don't you my lord?" Queen Beryl proceeded and embraced the enraged Seiya, "Rape her innocence off her!"

Seiya eyes widened with desperation and fear as the surrounding demons slowly encircled Usagi.

"Don't touch her! You demons! Don't touch her!"

He struggled hard to break loose as he yelled. Usagi let out a soft scream as the demons pinned her onto the cold ground. They were about to rape her in front of him! No! He will never allow such things to happen! As his desire to save his lover grew stronger, a deep unknown energy started to surface from within.

_-Thump-_

_-Thump-_

_Internally, a familiar dark spirit core was heard pounding softly and slowly… _

_It was about to awake… _

_-Thump-_

_-Thump-_

Suddenly, the door flung opened and Prince Demand stepped in. "What do you think you are doing?! She's my property! Stay away from her!"

Upon noting their master, the demons obediently backed off from Usagi and as soon as they did, she hastily got up, stumbled over to her enslaved lover and embraced him tightly.

"What's the meaning of this, Prince Demand?" Queen Beryl asked in displease.

"Prince Demand, how can you allow the maiden to see the Dark Lord?" Wiseman asked. "If they continue being together, it's only a matter of time till their powers awake. You should know we can't afford that…"

"Like I said, the maiden is my property. Whether I allow her to be with the Dark Lord or not is up to my pleasure." Prince Demand replied emotionlessly.

"You are helping the Dark Lord then…" Wiseman was unconvinced.

"I'm helping no one." Prince Demand answered. "But, I will not allow anyone to hurt my maiden."

"If that's the case…" Wiseman took a step forward to Queen Beryl. "I am changing sides…"

Queen Beryl grinned out of satisfaction. "You are most welcomed, Mr. Wiseman."

"I've never trusted your loyalty Wiseman." Prince Demand was surprisingly calm over Wiseman betrayal. "You want the maiden too don't you?"

"Yes, I want the maiden." Wiseman admitted. "I want her power! Do you not know that she's Doom-will's lost light? Uniting her with Doom-will, I will finally be able to obtain my long-wanted Heaven-will and be the next Divine King, the Ruler of Heaven! Yes! Heaven-will belongs to me!"

"Is that so?" Prince Demand continued uninterestedly. "I care less about your motive but if it involves harming the maiden then you got to at least kill me first…"

"If you insist…" Wiseman smirked. "I will send you to your grave."

Then, they were interrupted by an enchanted energy.

"_No… This light… It's the maiden…" _

The powerful glow had everyone especially Wiseman overwhelmed.

Soon, everything went white…

--

The closely attached couple remained silent as they gazed agonizingly at each other.

"Dark, am I not allowed to be with you?" Usagi asked with obvious grief. "I guess this is a goodbye… our promise… our promise is still impossible..."

"You are leaving me again?" Seiya questioned, his voice cracking with sadness. "Don't you want to be with me? Am I not good enough for you?"

"It's not like this! Dark! It's not…" Usagi exclaimed in tears. "I am the one! I am! I don't deserve you! I never did and never will…"

"What are you saying? If you are not good enough than who is?" Seiya told her, smiling gently.

"But-but, I am your weakness..."

"No, you are not…" Seiya shook his head gently, opposing to her claim. "I am nothing without you. Can't you understand? I need you, Light." He then smiled affectionately at her, "You are the one who showed me love and taught me happiness. You even gave me a name, 'Seiya'. It's a beautiful name. Thank you. I love it."

"Seiya…" Usagi could only stare at him, entranced with his words. He leaned forward bringing his face closer to hers and watching the distance between them disappear. She felt his warm lips, hesitantly at first but rapidly grew back to the passion filled kisses they usually shared.

It was at that sweet moment when the couple felt inseparable. It didn't seem to matter anymore that their bodies were aching or that they were enslaved in a cell together with their enemies. Weakness, misery, guilt…for now, none of that bothered them. In that moment, they were the only two people in the world. They broke apart, gazing at each other with matching, love-drenched eyes.

"Our promise will never be broken." Seiya smiled warmly. "Let us stay together forever, Light."

It was strange. Usagi could not oppose to his words. A minute ago, she was crying over her guilt and doubting her capability. But now, all she could feel was the need to be with him. What an amazing man she had fell in love to; his words and kisses magically lifted her sorrow and pain. He had her forgetting about the problem with their relationship and why it couldn't work out.

She wrapped her delicate arms around him. A faint smile grew on her face as she shed one last tear, all the pain easing away. Yes! She wanted to be with him. Then suddenly, something mystical happened. As the couple stayed closely intact a bright glow of light enveloped around Usagi, gradually blinding the surrounding.

Her miracle light magically dissolved the bondage chains allowing her to finally settle into his warmth once again.

"Hai… Let's stay together forever, Seiya."

--

* * *

--

"232… 234… 235… 236…" a cracked voice was heard counting the amount of souls he was collecting. The grim reaper was seen hovering above the dark battlefield seizing any escaping souls with his scythe and throwing them into his hell pit.

"Why isn't he fighting?" Yaten pointing his thumb at Hermes asked with irritation while igniting a group of charging demons.

"The Grim Reaper is a soul dominator; he's not meant to touch the living." Haruka explained while targeting a few electric strikes onward.

"Wind Diffusion!" Taiki called out. Immediately, an invisible wind force spread out around him, clearing the circle of enemies.

"278… 279…280…" the grim reaper leisurely proceeded on with his duty.

Mercury was awkwardly quiet the entire while as she led her group further through the Dark Kingdom hall slaying any interruption.

"You will go no further, sacred generals." It was Tomoe along with Black Lady and seven distinct looking demons.

"Oh? The Seven Daiyouma?" Haruka mumbled.

'_Daiyouma meaning Great Demon' – Japanese translate. _

"Are they strong?" Yaten asked sounding rather unbothered.

"I guess so, since they are the lead warriors of the Dark Kingdom." Haruka answered emotionlessly. "But whatever, they are going to hell anyway."

"Don't get too cocky!" Tomoe yelled. "Unlike a thousand years ago, you four are just mere mortals now! Do you seriously think normal beings like you can take on us and the seven Daiyouma?"

Unpredictably, Mercury was heard giggling lightly, "Don't bore me then…" she warned and without hesitation, she stretched her hand forth, "Time Freeze."

As the enemies tried backing away from the emerging time void, they were caught off-guard by several sneakily wind attacks from behind. After landing back on ground (with a few wounded), they were shocked to realize that Mercury was the only one present; the rest of the generals were gone. They glanced around their surrounding wildly.

Where were they? Behind them? At their right? Left?

"On top." Mercury answered coolly.

To their bewilderment, three hasty figures simultaneously strike down from above causing an unbelievable mass of power collision. Using their underlings as shields, both Tomoe and Black Lady managed to dodge the generals' combo attacks unhurt.

"Bina! Bakene! Retreat!" Tomoe ordered the two near-death Daiyouma to fall back.

"Soul Arrow." Manipulating his white flame into a bow and arrow, Yaten targeted his aim at the two fleeing demons. The Hell Archer released his shot; an arrow that mystically split into two, piercing accurately into the enemies' fatal spot. "Bullseye!"

"Nice shots, Yaten." Taiki praised.

"Thank you." Yaten dodged two ice shards.

"The Hell Archer, Artemis." Tomoe stated. "Your accuracies are as precise as what the legend claimed. Take his form, Bokushi!"

Bokushi obediently shape shifted his appearance into Yaten's. Now, two similar figures, each holding a white bow, were seen staring at each other.

"Nice…" Yaten peered at his twin stated.

"Are you praising yourself or the enemy?" Haruka giggled as he tried seeking his on-hand opponents that had mysteriously went missing.

"I'm admiring his looks." Yaten admitted proudly. As he raised his bow, his twin did the same. Facing each other, they released their shots together. Yaten sidestepped and seized the flaming arrow with his freehand instantly extinguishing it. His twin successfully copied his move, but unlike Yaten the white flame did not extinguish upon his grip. Feeling a tormented pain, Bokushi reactively free his hold against the burning arrow.

"Im…Impossible… My duplicate ability is supposed to be flawless!" He stared unbelievably at his scorched palm. "There's no way I can get hurt by his flame!"

"You chose the wrong person to replica, demon." Yaten lifted his weapon, aiming his next shot at Bokushi's heart. "You can have my looks, my skills and my moves but never my power…That's because my power was given to me by my idiotic king. The Soul Fire is inimitable!"

With it, the legendary flame slowly dies down taking another life with it.

"Goodbye, my twin." Yaten smirked.

"Stone Barrier!" an immense rocky border shielded a granite coated demon from Haruka lighting attack.

"You can't win me! I'm immune to lighting." It grinned.

Haruka sighed while glancing down at Thunder Feather, "I'm so not used to fighting with just one dagger."

"Hopefully, your other half awakes soon…" Taiki charged forth and like a feather drifting along with the wind he swiftly dodged all the missile attack.

"Culling Slash." His translucent blade dealt its final blow, neatly slicing his opponent into pieces of a hundred. The Swift-Wind remained clean and blood-stainless despite the countless enemies it had slain over the centuries.

"Rikokeida!" Upon witnessing Hermes dragging his friend soul, the granite demon made a reckless charge towards the grim reaper. "You are not taking her anywhere!"

Throwing the soul into his pit, Hermes turned and grabbed the granite demon by its neck. "Do not interfere with the dead." He warned sternly, strangling the intruder with his skeleton hand before tossing it violently over to Haruka.

"I want its soul! Finish it!"

"Don't boss me around Hermes…" Haruka muttered, stabbing the dying demon with agitation. "Here! It's yours!"

"Thanks."

Haruka watched as the grim reaper took over the fresh soul. Like his sister, Hermes displayed two distinct personalities' states. As a friend, he was portrayed as fun-loving, outspoken and carefree but as the grim reaper he evolved into a completely different individual; cold, heartless and unspoken. Haruka secretly favoured the idiotic Hermes more for no one dared to fool around with him when he's the grim reaper.

All of a sudden, there was a nonsensical drop in temperature as the atmosphere around them turned frigid.

"Frost Bite." Black Lady's magical cast had the generals froze to the ground with black ice slowly creeping up their body, trapping their bottom half in clear, cold prison.

Tomoe pleasing laughter echoed throughout, "Take this, sacred generals! We are not only freezing your body, but your souls as well! Your path ends here!"

But, no one was panicking. They were surprisingly calm over the ice locked against their bodies.

"Soulfire!" White luminous flame that evolved around Yaten melted the black ice instantly, freeing him from the prison.

Tomoe took a step back, overwhelmed with shock. He had underestimated the sacred generals seeing them as immobilized human that served no threat to the Dark Kingdom. But, standing before him were the real legends; the incredible deathless gods.

"Time Lapse."

With it, the solid ices surrounding them abnormally reversed their motion; melting and later evaporating. And, within seconds, the atmosphere revolved back to its original form, as if they went back in time.

"Didn't I warn you not to bore me?" Mercury took a step forward.

"Un-oh." Haruka, Taiki and Yaten smirked at the trouble arising.

The actual reason behind the priestess prompt killing, ending her enemies within seconds, was mainly because she detested boredom and time wastage. Among the hell generals, Mercury made the least appearances but was the most feared in the battlefield. Like the Dark Lord, she was undefeated and merciless. No doubt she's the Hell King finest assistance.

"Don't think you have won just yet! Raise Demons!" Tomoe summoned an army of brainwashed monsters forward. Once again, the region was occupied with countless charging creatures which resulted in a mass of corpse remains and souls seized.

"Our lord is still waiting for us. Let's not waste anymore precious time." Mercury voice was cold and stern.

"Time Walk."

Both Tomoe and Black Lady could only stare frightfully at the stationary Mercury. She did not move nor did anything change. There were seconds of frozen silence; only their heart beats could be heard. But then, everything came to a sudden pause. Their beats stopped. They could hear nothing. Upon feeling a shocking pain, they gazed down.

There was a bizarre hole at their left chests and blood was pouring out from its emptiness.

Gone!

Their hearts were gone!

"You are looking for these?" Before the two fell to their death, they caught an excruciating glimpse, a pair of bloodstained gloved-hands was seen grasping onto their hearts.

"Your time of death has arrived." With it, the priestess crushed the main organs as the grim reaper took the fresh souls into his collection.

Then, a strong yet familiar presence hit them by surprise; they recognized this life-threatening presence.

"Our Lord has awaked." Holding onto their grins, the generals were seen disappearing into the shadowy distant.

--

* * *

--

Tartarus was buried with a mass of frightening energy. The Doom-will was roaring vigorously upon feeling its owner's presence. Its terrorizing force had the dead panicking, souls crying and the entire hell depth recklessly trembling.

Four obscure figures circled around the growling sword and with smiles of pleasure claimed,

"Be patient. Our King will be back soon."

--

* * *

--

High above the clouds, in the midst of all the blues, were eyes of bewilderment staring unbelievably down to earth. A well-built man with long burning red hair was heard laughing delightfully as he rose from his seat. "Finally! Finally!"

"Ares-sama! The King of Hell… The King of Hell has awakened!" his respective followers shivered with fear.

"I know…" Ares smirked with contentment.

"What? The Dark Lord is back?" another man with long sunny-gold hair appeared from the white mist. "How convenient. I finally get to meet my dear brother, Artemis again."

"Yes, Apollo." Ares grasped onto his sword handle. "A thousand years! A thousand years of wait! Finally, he rise again!"

"I looked forward to our next battle, my one and only worthy opponent, the Dark Lord."

--

* * *

--

As the white light died down, a death-crashing energy took over. Against the shadow was a cast, a dominating figure with full-stretched wings, his midnight blue eyes glowing intensively within the dark gradient.

Paralyzed with shock the demons could only stared straight at terror. _"It's the Rise of the Dark Lord." _

The shadow fainted revealing a charming dark angel accompanied by a beautiful golden maiden in his left arm. Their blue eyes were noted locking devotedly into each others.

Without thinking, the maiden reached up and ran her fingers down his handsome face admiring his beauty. Yes, he looked like a fallen angel sent down from heaven, an angel just for her. He was like a flawless, mystical creature with the most beautiful and softest dark blue eyes she had ever seen.

"I was right. You are really an angel." She smiled before settling back down on his firm chest. "My guardian angel."

She was satisfied with the one-sided embrace, as long as she could feel his warmth around her. "Seiya, I want to stay like this forever."

His presence gave her promising peace and secure. She loved his strong hold, his warmth, his scent and practically everything about him.

"As you wish my light." He smiled, tightening his hold against her delicate waist, his eyes not leaving her serene face. She could feel his long soft hair brushing against her cheeks as he gently kisses her forehead. The tender touch from his warm lips had her secretly desiring for more.

With her puppy-doll eyes, she earnestly gazed up and silently pleaded him to deliver more kisses ignoring the fact that they were not alone. He giggled lightly before submitting her request but this time on her lips. It was like a never-ending kiss as if they could stay like that forever and never get tired of each other.

Seiya reluctantly pulled away upon sensing a targeted blast approaching. Holding onto Usagi firmly, he flew backwards and stayed suspended in the air. Usagi had her arms securely wrapped around his neck as she comfortably pressed her face into his chest closing her eyes at the same time. She knew her lover well enough to know that he disliked her witnessing his violence. Honestly, she was not as fragile as he thought. It was true that she detested blood, the smell and sight of it made her sick but nothing matters as long as he was with her.

"How dare you interrupt my loving moment with Light?!" Seiya glared sternly down at Queen Beryl. "Death awaits all of you!"

_-Thump-_

_An evil energy was seen evolving besides Seiya._

_-Thump-_

"RISE! DARK TERROR!"

The soft pounding was replaced by a scary and deep howl. Several black spirits-like cores were seen progressively encircling around his right hand as they evolved into a terrifying sword; a black blade with the face of a living devil.

"Welcome back, my power." Seiya grinned.

The Dark Terror responded with an eerie laughter followed by an abrupt opening of its heartless red eyes.

"BLOOD!! I WANT BLOOD!!" It demanded.

"_This is bad…"_ Wiseman realized that there wasn't any trace of injury on the Dark Lord. The damages that were previously done to suppress his strength were gone, recovered. It was the maiden's power. She healed him; her holy light that would only shine for his sake.

"No one warn you?" Seiya seemingly reading Wiseman mind spoke. "That Light had always been my strength and forever will be..."

He deliberately kissed Usagi on her forehead, making her blushed deeply, before he glared back down at his enemies.

"Too bad, you found out a little too late." The Dark Lord growled, his voice showing obvious anger. "What brave souls! You even dare make my Light cry!? I promise you a terrible death!"

Usagi felt a raise in Seiya's body temperature. _"He's angry…" _Usagi frowned in her thoughts. Though she wasn't affected by his killing instinct and rage, she preferred his smile. She quietly peered at his stern expression and blushed.

"_Ahhh… he looks so cool when he's angry!" _The maiden was obviously blinded by love; he looked great no matter what.

"Close your eyes, Light." Seiya ordered gently after catching her staring at him a little too long.

Usagi reluctantly obeyed. She wasn't through admiring his beauty. Then, she felt him tightening his lock against her and the Dark Terror; he was ready to charge forward.

They saw him dashing down at them only to disappear bizarrely in the midst. His unexpected reappearance from their backs had the shocked Queen Beryl, Prince Demand and Wiseman hastily backing away.

"Besides me, no one is allowed to touch Light!" He asserted in an angry tone. None perceived his strikes; the Dark Lord's attack speed was claimed invisible.

"Die weaklings!" Blood splattered within a second, body parts fell apart in the next and in just three seconds the spot was buried with the gory remains of those neatly sliced demon corpses.

The recognizable creepy laughter echoed throughout the opened cell.

"BLOOD! MORE BLOOD!!"

"Dread Explosion!" Wiseman desperately set the area that he last saw Seiya ablaze.

"What are you doing?!" Prince Demand exclaimed. "You might kill the maiden!"

But before he could make a dash into the rapid ignition, he glimpsed a winged-figure flew passed him.

The Dark Lord next prey was Wiseman.

In need to buy time and increase his defence, Wiseman duplicated several illusions of himself. "Mirror Images."

"Oh? Interesting…" Seiya glanced down at the numerous cloaked replicas and grinned.

"Fiend Grip!" All clones called together. Immediately after, innumerable black hands rose up from the ground.

Seiya effortlessly dodged the coming attacks and with an unexpected lift from his black blade, "Darkness Devour!" the Dark Terror mouth was seen widening with pleasure as it feasts on the offensive hands.

Wiseman could only stare in displease at the powerful dark angel. Nothing went according to his prediction, whether it was a thousand years ago or present. It was no surprise for he's going against legend strongest; the true King of Heaven. But this proud Wisdom god was not about to give up just yet; his greed for power and status forbid him to do so. He was confident about making it out alive; he had planned his escape route beforehand.

"Found you, Mastermind." A low voice was heard from behind.

Wiseman froze, realizing that the Dark Lord was no where in sight. He was behind him. Unable to avoid the unseen attack, Wiseman lost his left arm as he tried backing away. Holding onto his missing limb, he glared into his attacker's nightmare eyes; those cold, merciless stare. He saw him swiftly flew up dodging Queen Beryl sneaky attack. Taking this distraction as his escape opportunity, Wiseman hurriedly teleported out of the cell.

"Are you so keen to experience what life is like after death?!" Seiya stared fiercely down at Queen Beryl. "It's Hell!"

Queen Beryl made a hasty blink (_define: an instant short-distant teleportation_) avoiding Seiya's strike down.

"I will kill the maiden! You are MINE! Dark Lord! MINE! MINE! I am the future Queen of Hell!" She screamed insanely.

Upon hearing Queen Beryl loud self-proclaim, Usagi opened her eyes and frowned. "No! Seiya belongs to ME!" she possessively tightened her embrace. "I am his Queen!"

"Hm? You are willing to marry me then?" Seiya expression changed from severe coldness to gentle tenderness.

"Eh?!" Usagi was blushing intensely. She could feel her cheeks burning wildly as if they were being set a blaze.

What did she just burst out?

"_I am his Queen!" _

She had absent-mindedly revealed her secret desire! Oh no! This was bad! How was she supposed to face him now? Furthermore, he might not approve her. Why would the dominating Hell King take a weak, helpless girl like her as his wife?

"Erm… I… I…" She avoided his dazzling blue eyes and embarrassingly buried her red face into his chest.

"I really want to marry you." Seiya confessed while dodging Queen Beryl reckless attacks. "But, if you are not willing to…" He teased. "I guess I will have to choose another queen then."

"I didn't say anything about not wanting to be your wife!" Usagi did not mean to shout but she did. Despite knowing her incapability, she still disliked the idea of Seiya choosing someone else as his queen besides her.

"Jeez... You don't have to shout." Seiya grinned.

He knew he had won the maiden's heart, the legendary beauty that every man alive would die for was his. She was not leaving him and he would never allow her to. Yes, he wanted her as his; her body, soul and mind. Everything! She had became his weakness due to his over-possessiveness and protectiveness but it can't be help for she meant the world to him. He couldn't afford to lose her, she belonged to him and forever would be!

"You haven't answered my question." He persisted. "Will you marry me?"

Seiya saw Usagi's cheeks darkened rapidly and felt her heartbeats increased wildly which made him feared that she might get a heart attack from it.

Maybe he shouldn't ask.

It was too sudden and he was still in a battle. He had neglected his enemy for her response, dodging and not attacking.

"You don't have to answer me now." Seiya told her. This had Usagi looking up, her face still holding redness. "I will give you time to think about it till the next time I propose."

He smiled down at her sweetly before returning his attention back to Queen Beryl, his expression once again stern and unfeeling. Usagi very much wanted to give her response but it was too late now that Seiya was already back in battle mode and she did not want to distract him further. Didn't he say that he will propose again? She would give him her answer then, his well-deserved answer.

But, little did Usagi knew, there might not be a next time…

"_It was the beginning of the end; a thousand years old destruction was about to be recreated."_

--


	25. The Lost Light

--

**The Lost Light**

--

Prince Demand observed silently from afar with no intention of interfering. He was not on anyone side, neither the Dark Lord nor Queen Beryl. He watched as Seiya protected Usagi from the massive sonic waves; by shielding her with his side-wing which caused a few of his feathers to fall off.

"Seiya! Your wing…" Usagi had the most remorse look on her face as she ran her fingers along the reachable portion of his broad wings.

"Don't worry, it's nothing." Seiya smiled convincingly. "The feathers will grow back."

"Re-really?" Usagi asked, wanting an assurance.

She loved his angelic black wings and couldn't bear to see them get damage because of her.

"Yes. So, don't worry… Close your eyes…" Seiya convinced. "It will be over soon."

He glared back at his giant-sized opponent; Queen Beryl had transformed into her true form and was now a tower tall. She broke all wall barriers allowing Seiya to catch a full glimpse of the surrounding outside. The darkness did not deprive his vision and he was pleased when he noted his comrades closing up onto Wiseman. Knowing that they were good and alive eased his worries.

"Dark Lord! Dark Lord!" Queen Beryl's scream was so ear-splitting that Seiya got to fully bury Usagi inside his wing; an act to protect her from going deaf. "Make me! Make me the Queen of Hell!"

"Jeez… Are you kidding me?" Seiya rubbed his right ear lightly. "Forget about being the Queen, your noisiness had me reconsidering about even wanting your soul in hell."

Queen Beryl made another piercing scream before dashing her hand forth to grab the flying couple.

"But, you'll make a great feast for Doom-will…" Seiya grinned. He didn't dodge, instead he raised his black blade and charged front, towards her coming hand.

"Dark Terror! Blood Devour!"

There was an eerie shriek of excitement as the dark angel flew through Queen Beryl's gigantic palm, into her hands, up her arms and exited out from her shoulder; cruelly splitting her entire hand into two.

Though the area was showered with blood, there wasn't any trace of redness on Seiya or Usagi. Queen Berly was screaming in pain as she held onto her missing limb.

"I told you before, didn't I?" Seiya flew passed her left ear declared. "Whoever that dares make my Light cry will suffer the worse death."

He immediately disappeared and reappeared on her right, "Are you prepared for the worse?"

In less than a second, her right arm was seen falling off, hitting the gory ground with a loud thump. Again, Queen Beryl widened her mouth but instead of screaming, she shot out a big lucent beam aiming for the suspended couple. Seiya unexpectedly flew down, pierced the Dark Terror into one of her large detached hand and with an enormous physical strength lifted it up and flung it over to the attacking giant. Her oversized arm dealt a direct hit to her face before she involuntarily destroyed it with her beam shot.

Queen Beryl stomped a couple of steps forward and aimed her beam at random direction, causing the earth to crack and walls to collapse. She had obviously lost her mind; in a disability state to think straight.

Feeling nauseous, Usagi tightened her grip around Seiya's neck, almost choking him.

"Are you alright, Light?" Seiya gazing down at his lover asked in concern.

Usagi buried her pale face into his bare chest and nodded slightly, hoping that he will not see through her lies. She was feeling terribly sick and could endure the strong smell of blood no further, but she was never going to admit it as she didn't wish Seiya to see her as a burden. Then, she felt his warm lips gently touching her forehead.

"Don't lie to me…" he whispered. "I'm sorry for dragging this. I will end it soon for you."

"Eh?" Usagi shook her head forcefully. "No… No… It's not your fault… you don't have to apologize… I'm just weak…"

"Shhh… You are not… Be a good girl and just stay by me…" Seiya's tender voice was so comforting that it not only calmed her soul but magically healed her sickness.

"Hai…" Usagi smiled as she rest her head on his chest obediently.

Seiya flew higher up into the air with his wing shading Usagi from any falling bricks along the way. Glaring down at the armless giant from above, he stated sternly, "You are lucky. For Light's sake, I shall torment you no further. Any last word before Hell welcomes you?"

"I'm not dying!" Queen Beryl laughed wildly. "I'm not dying! We are going to be together forever! You and me! Dark Lord!" She commanded with intense, "All raise! Demons!"

The Queen summoned her entire Kingdom of remaining demons, but she wasn't going to use them as weapons, she was going to eat them.

"Life Infest!"

Her long, oversized tongue swapped the region around her. Agonizing cries from demons were heard as they struggle to escape from being consumed into the Queen's mouth. Her missing limbs were seen growing back after she swallowed the whole mass.

"Wh-What is happening?" Usagi gazing up at her lover asked.

Seiya had blocked her front vision with his left-wing not wanting her to witness the brutal scene.

"Don't worry. Everything is going according to my plan." Seiya looking down at Usagi replied with a smile.

Usagi smiled brightly at his pleasing grin; not knowing Seiya's evil intention. She was happy as long as he was.

"_How convenient... How very convenient… I can't thank her enough for clearing the trash for me." _Seiya restrained himself from laughing victoriously, pressing his loud laughter to soft pleasurable giggling.

"I've been waiting for this moment long enough!" He stated out loud.

Usagi gasped in surprise when Seiya spread both his wings wide opened enabling her vision but she immediately closed her eyes when he dashed down in full speed.

"This is the End." The Dark Lord placed his verdict.

The Dark Terror shrieked victoriously as the Dark Lord dealt his final blow, slicing Queen Beryl vertically down; starting from the head first, downwards to her chest and right through her lower stomach splitting the giant into two portions.

"YEEEEEAAAAAAAARRRRR!!" She screamed her final yell before her tower-like body fell horizontally in two ends, away from each other.

Everything eventually turned quiet, into a dead silence.

--

--

"Artemis, Templar… Uranus…" Wiseman took a step back as the three young men slowly approached him.

"You are not going anywhere from here, Wiseman." Haruka stated firmly, his eyes sharpened with seriousness.

"Only one missing arm?" Taiki glanced at Wiseman injuries. "It looks like Seiya went easy on you…"

"Guess we got no other choice but to finish his job then…" Yaten raised his flaming white bow but he hesitated for a second as if something about the elderly standing before them was amiss.

"Che…" Yaten showed his annoyance before releasing his shot. "An illusion…" His fiery arrow went through the fake causing it to vanish at the same time.

Then as the earth began to tremble recklessly (due to Queen Beryl transformation), more Wiseman duplicates reappeared and surrounded them. The illusions sent explosive blast causing them to leap up into the air.

"Damn! None of them are real!" Haruka striking several clones with his lighting bolts exclaimed.

"Coward…" Taiki frowned as he dodged and sliced the charging illusions.

Then, an ear-piercing scream coming from their far-right caught their attention.

"That idiot…" Yaten smiled in relief when he glimpsed a dark angel on battle with a giant woman and was caught off-guard when a lucent-black hand emerged from the ground, seizing him by his leg and began draining his energy.

"This again?!" Yaten stared displeasing at the gripping lock.

"Soulfire!" He ignited the dark hand and broke loose from the hold.

"Are you alright?" Taiki aided Yaten up while Haruka protected his comrades from any coming attack.

"I'm alright, just a little tired." Yaten steadied and managed to avoid the next few protruding hands from seizing him.

It was when they felt a deep, raging yet familiar aura exploding that all the replicas and attacks unexplainably disappeared.

"It's Mercury…" They concluded together while scanning through the surrounding for their comrade. But, she was no where to be found.

Instead, from the dark distance, two cloaked figures were engaged inside a huge translucent spherical void, one with her gloved-hand locked against the other's neck.

"I've finally found you…" Mercury lifted Wiseman up single-handedly. "Do you remember Father Time?" Her voice was colder than usual.

Trap in a freeze time, Wiseman was unable to move and helplessly allowed Mercury to strangle him.

"Father Time? You… You are…" He peered at the enigma, feeling a strong killing instinct surrounding her as she unpredictably reached for her mask. His eyes widened with shock after it was removed, instantly recognizing her. "His… daugh… ter…"

"Yes! The once anonymous goddess who you underestimated…" Her crystal-blue eyes glared ragingly at him. "You evacuated me after you killed our Father! How dare you! How dare you!" She fastened her locked. "We are here for vengeance!"

The second she removed her time void, another scary presence emerged from his back. Wiseman felt a skeleton hand grasping onto his top head and his skull was heard cracking.

"We have waited a thousand years for your death..." Hermes stated loudly. "And, it had finally arrived!"

"The… The… Grim Reaper…" Wiseman recognizing his presence choked.

"For our father, your soul shall be tormented in hell for eternity…" Mercury tightened her grip against Wiseman's neck.

"I may die… with my soul forever dominated under the Dark Lord… but…" Wiseman giggled slyly. "I… I am still getting the last laugh…"

"You!" Mercury eyes sharpened with killing intense.

"The two of you understood what I meant, don't you? Since your father isn't dead…" Wiseman grinned. "Are you going to save him?" The dying man stared knowingly into Mercury's displease eyes. "You are planning to… You are planning to save him, aren't you? If not, you won't have sought for the Dark Lord since only the true Heaven King, the one who possesses the legendary Heaven-will can save your father. But, the Dark Lord is never agreeing to claim back his heaven throne, never going to restore Doom-will back to it's true form for he loves the maiden more than his life… You can never save your father…"

"Enough!" Both Mercury and Hermes shouted together. The siblings were feeling more upset than enraged. What Wiseman claimed was the truth. The actual reason for Mercury seeking Seiya in the first place was because she knew he was the only one capable to save her father whose soul was trapped in Heaven's Death Zone. She needed Seiya to reunite Doom-will with its Lost Light and revive Heaven-will. But everything became almost hopeless when she found out that the Lost Light was actually the Maiden of the Light; the Dark Lord's lover, her best friend, their comrade! After knowing about this, Mercury was heartbroken and confused. A part of her didn't want to sacrifice her friend but her other half still held the strong desire to save her father. For a thousand years, she had kept this a secret from everyone except Hermes, burying it along with her chaotic feelings but now, it was all dug up again.

"My soul shall watch from the dept of hell, the day you betray the lord… the day the maiden die with the rebirth of the Heaven-king!" Wiseman laughter echoed.

"Your Time of Death has arrived." Mercury ignoring Wiseman's claim sentenced his death.

The earth around Mercury cracked with intense as light blue rays began escaping out from each ground gaps.

"The Finale."

It was the priestess vital power. The elderly flesh was seen drying; consumed by time and later decaying. His laughter slowly died down along with his entire body as he gradually turned into ashes, with no remains except for his black cloak.

When her comrades finally arrived, they saw Mercury unfeelingly placing her mask back on as Hermes seized a flesh soul, dragging it along with him, as he disappeared into one of the hell pits.

"Are you alright, Mercury?" Taiki asked concernedly as they head towards the unaccompanied girl.

"I'm fine." She answered with a hidden smile.

"That's good." Taiki smiled in relief.

"Where's Hermes?" Haruka asked as he glanced around searching for the Grim Reaper.

"Back in Hell…" Mercury answered simply. "He just found a new toy…"

"What?" Yaten exclaimed, sounding rather irritated. "But there are still many wandering souls."

"Can you see all those shadowy bat-like creatures appearing from the hell pits?" Haruka explained. "They are called Necro'lics, hell creatures serving under the Grim Reaper. They will do his job. Hermes doesn't normally appear before a dead unless it's a strong, rebellious or essential soul…"

"Handy pets…" Yaten commented shortly.

"Well, if you like, you can always ask Seiya to grant you some..." Taiki joked.

But before Yaten could protest, they heard a loud dying scream of pain. "It seems like our lord had slain his prey…" Mercury verified. "Shall we meet him?"

The group agreed and disappeared into the darkness.

--

* * *

--

A charming dark angel was seen slowly descending. He held a heavenly smile as he adoringly embraced his lover with both arms.

"Is… Is it over?" Usagi timidly opened her eyes and gazed up.

"Yes… for now…" Seiya whispered into her ear.

When their feet finally touched the ground, Seiya loosened his hold so to have a good look at her; his beautiful precious. Usagi blushed a dark red as he continued to stare at her joyously. She didn't want to shy away from his intense gaze, but everything about him seemed so stunningly perfect that it took her self-esteem away and had her forgetting that she was famed for her entrancing beauty.

"Did I ever tell you how beautiful you really are?" He whispered into her ears. Usagi blush grew a hundredth time darker. She looked down embarrassingly making Seiya giggled at her shyness.

"You… You are really handsome too…" She muttered softly, her gaze still away from his.

"Hm? Is that so? Then why aren't you looking at me?" Seiya asked knowingly. Not wanting to risk making her more uncomfortable by lifting her face just to admire her beauty some more, he waited until she looked up on her own accord.

As expected, his deliberate question bought Usagi to finally look at him. He smiled at her as they gazed at each other's love filled eyes. Acting on the strong emotion they felt, they gradually closed up their distance. Usagi edged herself up on the tips of her toes and locked her hands behind his neck. Her lips met his gently. Seiya arms slithered around her waist, pulling her closer to him, not allowing any gap in between them. He kissed her back vigorously before placing one hand behind her head and the other on her back drawing her even nearer than before, deepening the kiss. His tongue parted her lips, allowing an entry in and heating up the kiss further.

Then, Seiya sensed someone watching them. They were familiar presences but he deliberately ignored them as he continued swirling his tongue in her mouth.

"Ahem!" They heard a cough. "Are you quite through flaunting your public display of affection, love birds?"

Usagi recognized the voice and the soft giggling. Yaten and the others were standing behind her! She immediately tried breaking the kiss but to no avail.

"Se…i…ya…" Her supposedly loud protest was restrained as Seiya intentionally slid his tongue deeper in fastening her against his body each time she tried backing off. He wasn't contented at all. He needed to taste more of her sweet lips and the last thing he ever wanted was an interruption.

"What do you want? Can't you see that I'm busy here?" The dark angel breathed in between his kisses. His midnight eyes stared displeasingly at his fellow comrades before him as he continued caressing and licking her lips.

"You idiot!" Yaten shrieked but kept his distance. He wasn't sure how he should approach a kissing couple. "At least get a room!"

Then, both Seiya's wings were seen enfolding as they buried Usagi inside, not letting her escape his kiss.

"Why are we even here for?" Taiki sighed while Haruka chuckled. "Well, at least we know they are both alive and very healthy."

Mercury stared silently at the loving couple. There was no way she was going to tell them about her troubles despite her strong desire to save her father. The Dark Lord was her saviour; the one who took her in after she was abandoned and not even once had he suspected her loyalty or whether she had any personal motive (which she had), he even trained her and granted her power! She'll never betray him, she can't, it was not right to.

The couple had suffered enough torment for the past thousand years and to separate them again will be beyond plain cruelty. It'll take someone downright heartless to do that. She shook her head, erasing the thought of reviving the Heaven-will. Fate played such a cruel role on them. All the lord and maiden ever wanted were to be together, but a war broke and parted them. No couple in existence had waited a thousand years for each other, only them. Their love and devotion were so strong that it can't be extinguished, like an undying flame burning through the Millennium. No one has any right to separate them after what they had been through; not her, not heaven, not even fate. But fate gets a say in everyone's life and it spares no one; not even the supreme Dark Lord.

"Se…i…"

Usagi rapped Seiya's front chest lightly in an attempt to break the kiss. Not that she disliked his kisses. She loved them but she was feeling overly-embarrassed with her friends watching and could not understand why her lover wasn't affected by it at all as he continued kissing her hungrily. Usagi was definitely not a person who could handle public displays of affection rationally.

"What now?" Seiya growled agitatedly as he reluctantly released Usagi, breaking the kiss when he felt another presence approaching.

"Why is it so that whenever I tried to have a sweet moment with Light, there's prone to be interruption?" He locked his left arms around Usagi, who was panting tirelessly as she tried to pay off her oxygen debt, and glared at Prince Demand.

"Do you want me to finish him off for you, my lord?" Haruka offered and withdrew his dagger.

"Don't…" Usagi protested softly and gazed up at her lover. "Don't kill him Seiya… He's not a bad person…"

"You don't have to plead for my life, maiden." Prince Demand stated. "I will not allow myself to die under the Dark Lord just yet…There are still things I haven't achieved…" He gazed softly across to Usagi, obviously referring to her.

"In this world, there are things you can never achieve, Demon." Seiya asserted in his confident tone. "And Light is one of them." He deliberately tightened his hold against Usag and pressed their bodies closer, claiming her as his.

"I have to disagree with you, Dark Lord." Prince Demand frowned slightly. "I love the maiden… I will never give up on her…"

"I will allow you to live…" Seiya lenient decision shocked his comrades. They couldn't believe that their lord would react with such calmness, even offering his mercy to an enemy who tried stealing his lover away.

"To live through a life of loneliness…" He grinned evilly. "Because no matter how hard you try, how long you craved… whether it is a thousand years ago, a thousand years later or forever in eternity… You can never achieve Light." His dark blue eyes were seen burning with seriousness and confident as he hoisted Usagi up into his arm.

"Light is forever MINE!" The Dark Lord declared.

Usagi was covered with redness at her lover's strong proclaim. She squirmed in his arms shyly, avoiding all eyes focusing on them. He sure knew how to make her feel absolutely embarrassed by saying things like that but she was secretly feeling happy about it.

"Still… my love for the maiden will never die…" Prince Demand stared seriously at Seiya. "No matter what you claim, I will never give her up…"

He then faced Usagi and with an affectionate gaze confessed. "I love you maiden… I really do…"

There was a second of silence before a soft voice of gratitude was heard.

"Thank you." Usagi smiled and nodded faintly.

Her little sign of appreciation froze Prince Demand to the ground. Though he understood that his desire to have the maiden's love was impossible, he was contented to see her smile and to know that she appreciated his existence.

Seiya sighed quietly. It had just occurred to him that he might meet more persistence love rivals besides Prince Demand. He gazed down at Usagi and she smiled sweetly back before wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Let's go." Seiya turned and faced his comrades. They were seen instantaneously following their lord's lead out of the Fallen Kingdom.

--

* * *

--

"All of you are rubbish!" A strongly-built man with long red hair exploded. "Can someone please give me a decent challenge!?"

His dark-red right eye glared dissatisfiedly down at his unconscious defeats. His left eye was noted missing, replaced by an ugly scar.

"Cool down, Ares." Another young man with long sunny gold hair was seen appearing from behind. "These divine soldiers are already Heaven's finest. We seriously can't find anymore appropriate troops that can meet up to your expectation."

"Fight me, Apollo!" Ares pointed his heavy broadsword at the Sun God.

"No way…" Apollo raising both his hands up opposed. "You know that I'm not your opponent. I don't wish to visit Hell yet…"

"Everyone is worthless!" Ares ragingly pierced his sword upright into the cloudy earth and sat down. "No one is worthy of my time except the Dark Lord!"

"Yes… Yes…" Apollo sat down beside him. "The supreme Hell King who ended your undefeated streak and stole your left eye… He's indeed worthy, with the best sword, the best generals and the best woman too; the legendary maiden of the light whose beauty was said to be unsurpassed. How envious…"

"I care nothing for woman! I just want a rematch with the Dark Lord!" Ares claimed loudly. "I've trained and waited a thousand years for his rise! I can feel my blood boiling with excitement at the thought of facing him again. I want to defeat him at his strongest!"

"You haven't fought him at his strongest yet, Ares." Another manly voice abruptly spoke out.

"Oh? Isn't this the God of Fire, Haphaestus?" Apollo glanced at the man who had just entered the training arena. "You are here to fight the God of War?"

"You are just one of the Dark Lord defeats. He even seized your divinity flame and granted it to Artemis…" Ares claimed arrogantly. "You are not worthy to be my opponent, Hephaestus."

"You are no better, Ares. All of us know how you lost your left eye to the Hell King." Hephaestus calmly spoke back. "I have no intention to fight you since we both got defeated by the same man when he was not even in his best."

"Not his best?! What rubbish!" Ares was furious. For someone to tell him a thousand years later that his lost was actually an easy defeat was definitely an insult for the great God of War.

"Not only was his power suppressed by the Chain of Forbidden then…" Hephaestus ignored Ares fury rage added. "He was never at his strongest without reviving Heaven-will…"

"What are you implying here, Hephaestus?" Apollo sensing a hint asked. "Reviving the Heaven-will when it was destroyed way back a thousand years ago?"

"Heaven just got the news…" Hephaestus glancing at the unpleased Ares announced. "That, the rise of the Dark Lord ended the Dark Kingdom…"

"That's nothing surprising…" Apollo murmured.

"And because of this, we finally found our long lost light…" Hephaestus continued slowly. "The Light of miracle and hope that once belongs to Heaven-will… has been located… and Heaven wants it back."

"I am only interested in the Dark Lord!" Ares got impatient. "The miracle light or whatever Heaven wants got nothing to do with me!"

"Of course it does, since the maiden is our long lost light, Heaven will most probably be declaring war with Hell if the Dark Lord oppose on giving it back." Haphaestus stated. "We can't start a war without the God of War can we? Kronos-sama had specially put you in charge…" But before Haphaest could even finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Ares laughter of joy and excitement.

"Finally! Finally! The thousand years old war is back! The Dark Lord! This is great! Fantastic!"

"You are saying that the Maiden of the Light is the Heaven-will escaped power?" Apollo asked ignoring Ares shouts of delight.

"Her soul is…" Haphaestus replied. "No, she doesn't have a soul… The missing light is buried inside of her."

"The legendary beauty needs to die? What a pity…" Apollo commented. "But, the Hell King is never going to allow that and things will certainly turn ugly if he's angered. Though I still look forward for the war since I'll definitely get to meet Artemis then…"

"Same here." Haphaestus agreed. "But, unlike you, I am not going after the goddess of love… I am after my Soulfire!"

"Since defeating Artemis is our main goal…" Apollo smirked. "We can work together on this one…"

"I am gathering all the Heaven generals." Ares announced with excitement. "HAHA!! How exciting! I can't wait! I simply just can't wait for it to start!"

_"The Great Dark Lord and all the Deathless Gods of Hell, shall we meet again in the rebirth of a thousand years old war?"_

--

* * *

--

"Looks like you've caught some preys, Cerberus." An elegant woman holding onto a human height key-like staff inspected on what was inside the gigantic hound's mouth. "Oh? More Heaven intruders?"

"You must be the Hell Breaker, Lady Travel Pluto! We are Heaven Messengers! Here to pass a message to the Hell King!" the three heavenly beings tried forcing their way out of the dog's enormous mouths cried.

"Oh?" Pluto stepped out of Hellgate. "Spit them out, Cerberus. They are bad for your stomach. You might suffer food poisoning from eating them."

--

"_Cerberus was the hound of the Dark Lord, a monstrous three-headed dog with a snake for a tail called Hellbound. It guarded the gate of hell and ensured that spirits of the dead could enter but none could exit. In addition, no living person was to come into Hell. It was rumoured that Cerberus could transformed into a 100 headed hellbound if angered or provoked." – Story fact_

--

The three-headed hound growled displeasingly before it reluctantly obeyed. They were roughly thrown to the nearby ground as Pluto slowly approached them.

"Our King hasn't make his return yet. Even though you are only here as harmless messengers, I cannot allow you through the Hellgate…" Pluto eyes sharpened with seriousness. "Unless you are willing to die for it…"

The messengers shivered slightly before climbing back up on their feet. "We… We have no intention on seeing the Hell King personally…" They took a couple of steps back from Pluto. "We just need the message to be sent across…"

"Why must I help you, hm?" Pluto deliberately took a foot forward. "You worthless gods! None of you are worthy of the Dark Lord's attention!"

Then they felt a spine-chilling presence. It wasn't from Hell Breaker but someone more terrorizing. The messengers froze upon noticing two long glowing-red, double-edged bladed whips slowly encircling up around them; like a snake trying to coil its preys.

"Can I torture them?" They heard a deep cold voice from behind asked.

"Eris?" Pluto sounding a little surprise stared at the red-headed hell guardian. "What made you come out into the open? You never liked anywhere out of the Hellgate…"

--

"_Eris, the god of violence and slaughter is one of the four guardians of hell. He was the younger brother of the God of War, Ares, and once the lead warrior in Heaven till he fought and lost to the War God in the battle for the strongest. Fearing that his brother might surpass him in the near future, Ares heartlessly killed Eris claiming that he deserved to die for his defeat and sent his soul down to Hell for torment. _

_But Eris spirit held a strong-will of existence by which the Dark Lord took a liking in. It was claimed that the King of Hell revived Eris placing him under his custody initially as a normal hell guard but after proving himself as one of the most destructive beings among the many deathless gods in hell, he later earned to be set high in the Dark Lord's hierarchy of guardians. _

_Now the God of Violence in Hell is the embodiment of rage and vengeance in the soul of the long dead; a blood-thirsty opponent in life, a nightmare in death. His main weapons were two extendable double-edged bladed whips that he used to torture the dead with while they are capable of cutting bones of the living. The fear and the desolation struck in the hearts of those who have the misfortune of encountering him alone is a pain impossible to withstand." – Story fact. _

--

"I was bored. Blame Hermes for not allowing me torture the new soul he just brought back." He replied blankly as he directed his weapon closer to his preys. The whips sharp blades cut through the three men flesh drawing their blood onto his weapon. He smirked pleasingly at their tormented expression, enjoying the smell and sight of fresh blood.

"Hey… Why aren't any of you screaming?" His voice rose playfully. "If it doesn't hurt, I can always cause more pain!"

Pluto shook her head with a plain smile before turning away, "Do whatever you want with them. I don't care. But remember to clean up the place before our lord gets back."

Shortly after, the shattering screams of pain slowly died down along with the victims. The God of Violence frowned as he stared down at the untidily slashed corpses, obviously unsatisfied that they died too soon.

"It ended already? No fun." Eris withdrew his bloodstained whips and headed for the Hellgate only to meet his three shadowy comrades by the entrance.

"Hey! Nyx! Moros! Erebus!" He greeted them friendly.

"So, why are the messengers here for?" one of the shadow asked, a voice that belonged to a woman.

"Oh… I forgot to ask…" Eris hitting himself on the head childishly replied.

"What?!" the woman shrieked but didn't exit into the bright open. "Forget it! Please remember to do so the next time round before you start killing recklessly!" It sounded like a mother scolding her child. "And don't leave all your dead toys laying everywhere! They will be back anytime soon and you should know how much Light hated blood!"

"Cool down, Nyx!" one of the silhouettes tried calming her down.

"Alright, alright… You are sounding more and more like an old woman, Nyx." Eris heading back to clean his mess commented. "No wonder our lord chose the lovely Light instead of you."

Nyx held her clutched knuckles up, "Why you!"

She was immediately pulled back by the other two shadowy figures. They had prevented her from charging at Eris.

"Let me go! Let me kill that dumbass!" Nyx struggled.

"It's morning, sis…" the shadow holding onto her right arm reminded.

"You, as the Goddess of the Night, are at your weakest during the bright daylight." The left then looked at the right. "I think we ought to drag her back to Tartarus."

"I agree." Both of them nodded before disappearing into the Hellgate.

--


	26. Their Deepest Feeling

**Their Deepest Feeling**

"Um… Um… Seiya…" Usagi moaned softly with pleasure.

"Say it again." Seiya whispered sexily into her ear as he trailed light kisses down her neck.

"Sei… Um… Seiya… Seiya…" She obediently called lightly between her breath.

"You have such delicate skin, Light…" Seiya commented affectionately as he rubbed his thumbs against her neck.

"Harder… harder please…" Usagi requested shyly.

"But I might hurt you if I go any harder." Seiya warned, his face moving closer towards hers.

"It's alright…" She breathed between her light moans. "Um… It feels good, Seiya…"

Outside, a group of curiosity was pressing their ears against a closed door as they secretly try to perceive the cries of pleasure coming from its interior.

"What are you guys doing?" Taiki walking passed the corridor asked with a brow up.

"Shhh…" Yaten hissed. "We are trying to find out what Seiya and Usagi are doing inside the room."

"You know, it's very rude to invade into others privacy?" Taiki stated, squeezing in between Minako and Haruka.

"Your current action doesn't correspond with your words, Templar." Minako giggled while looking at Taiki.

"But, this rudeness is rather acceptable considering they are the legendary couple." Taiki grinned deviously.

"What are you guys doing?" the similar question was asked from behind. The group turned and saw a graceful looking lady with long, wavy green hair smiling at them.

"Michiru…" Haruka stepping away from the group hurried towards her. "You shouldn't be anywhere out of bed till you are fully recovered."

"I'm fine, Haruka." Michiru convinced. "Ami-san just clarified that I had fully recovered. You see, I don't even have a scratch on me." She deliberately lifted her long sleeve up to prove that her wounds had healed. "Furthermore, I really want to get to know everyone better since it might help me regain more of my past memories…"

Haruka sighed in defeat, "Fine, but you must promise to let me know at once if you experience any slight pain alright?"

Michiru nodded with content.

"Hey hey…" Yaten called out softly. "They are getting to the good part…"

"Really?" Haruka dragged the confused Michiru into the limited space.

"What is this regarding?" Michiru asked as she stared oddly at her friends who had their ears glued onto the door.

"We are figuring out what Light-chan and Dark-sama are up to…" Minako tried explaining in a whisper.

"So, what are they doing exactly?" Michiru questioned further, still not understanding the commotion. Immediately, she saw faint blushes coating everyone's face as they exchanged blushful stares; each party waiting for the other to answer her.

"Listen for yourself…" Minako pulled Michiru closer into the group. She stared strangely at her friends a second longer before gently placing her ear against the thin piece of wood. Michiru gasped upon hearing Usagi's moans of pleasure and eagerly compressed her ear closer to listen for more.

"Hey, stop pushing me, Taiki!" Yaten suppressed his yell.

"Leave some space for Michiru!" Haruka hissed.

"Ouch!" Minako shrieked softly, feeling a hard step on her right foot due to the messy pushing and squeezing for space.

"Are you alright, Minako?" Yaten asked concernedly before directing his attention back to his other friends. "Hey! Careful not to hurt Minako!"

"Aaaaaahhhh!"

Suddenly, the door gave way, sending the entire group falling into the enclosed room with a loud thump. There was an awkward moment of silence. None dared to open their eyes fearing to see things they shouldn't as they laid stationary on top of one another.

"What are the five of you doing in my room?"

They heard a familiar voice growled and felt a horrifying presence before them.

The group courageously took a peek up and was surprised to see a fully-dressed Seiya standing right before them. He had his arms folded and was glaring displeasingly down at them. Their eyes wandered wildly around the room observing its surrounding; everything was neatly in place, the curtains were pulled up and the bed was untouched. Behind Seiya sat a confused Usagi staring down at them.

"We… We…" the group tried getting up stumbled with their response.

"Yes?" A very annoyed Seiya still folding his arms waited impatiently for an answer.

"We were… We were…" They exchange anxious stares among themselves, hoping for someone to come up with an appropriate response.

"We were… Ya… What were we doing again?" Yaten asked with a nervous smile.

The rest of his friends stared speechlessly back at him before giving him shoulder shrugs.

"They came to ask if our Lord and Light-chan will like to join us for shopping down the town, since this will be our last few days on earth." A recognizable voice from behind answered.

The group immediately turned towards their saviour who stepped into the room with a pleasant smile.

"_Phew! We are saved! Thanks Ami" _They gave her a gaze of appreciation and Ami nodded back seemingly saying, _"You are most welcome."_

"Is that so…?" Seiya questioned doubtfully.

"Yeah! Shopping! Can we go, can we go please?" Usagi grasping onto Seiya's arm pleaded with big puppy eyes.

"Hai… Hai…" He sighed and dotingly patted her on the head.

"So… What were the two of you doing in the room a moment ago?" Minako asked bravely.

"Seiya was giving me a massage, since my neck felt really stiff this morning…" Usagi explained delightfully. "Thanks to him, I am feeling all good and fresh now!"

"What?! Just a massage?!" Haruka, Yaten and Minako exclaimed together.

"Yes. What else did you think we were doing?" Seiya asked suspiciously.

"No… Nothing… Nothing…" They lied in between their forced smile.

"Ya! We should get going before the sunset!" Minako changing the subject abruptly gripped onto Usagi by her hand. "Let's go, Light-chan!"

"Yes… yes…" The other three boys agreed. "We should really get going, Seiya."

Seiya let out a restless sigh before following his comrades out of the lodge.

* * *

"How are you feeling right now, Light?" Ami asked concernedly.

The four girls were strolling down the town street while the guys were tailing a distance behind them.

"I'm feeling great!" Usagi smiled brightly. "Seiya is really good at massaging."

"I bet he's way better in bed…" Minako giggled lightly.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Usagi questioned innocently, not understanding her friend's implication.

"Light-chan! Don't tell me you haven't done it with Dark-sama yet?!" Minako burst out in absolute surprise.

"Minako-san, that's their personal life. You shouldn't be intruding into it." Michiru warned.

"It's the goddess of love's duty to keep track of Light-chan and Dark-sama love life…" Minako protested. "Seriously, Light-chan… Dark-sama and you have known each other for a thousand years already and still haven't done it yet?!"

"Do what?" Usagi asked back guilelessly.

"Oh Lord! That sounds so unreal!" Minako exclaimed aloud as she stared suspiciously at Usagi checking to see if her face held any lie, but she seemed as innocent as ever with her head tilling slightly to her right in absolute confusion.

"_Poor Dark-sama."_ The rest of the girls shook their heads with nearly compassionate expressions.

"You really want to know?" Minako inquired as she leaned closer and whispered something into Usagi's ear which instantly made her froze at the spot with the darkest face ever.

Her girlfriends were heard giggling lightly at her adorable reaction before an intimate voice was heard asking from behind, "What happened Light? Why did you suddenly stop in the middle of the road?"

Usagi gasped, her reddish face grew another time darker upon hearing Seiya's voice. She had her back facing him while Seiya was staring down at her the entire moment wondering why she hadn't response to his question.

"Are you feeling alright?" He asked worriedly before patting her gently on the shoulder making her jerk a little at his touch.

"Artemis! I know a really cool shop by that corner…" Minako with intention slipped her arms into Yaten's dragged him out of the group. "We will see you guys later!" She waved hastily before fading into the distance with her confused lover.

"Shall we visit the city library?" Ami asked Taiki politely.

"Sure, I heard that they have the Alexiando collection which we are looking for." He smiled warmly back as they proceeded down the lane chattering about books.

"Eh… Michiru and I have something on too. We will see the two of you back at the lodge an hour later then." Haruka locking his hand into Michiru's excused before they turned away and left.

Now, all that remain were the two main characters of the Love Legend. Usagi was still standing at that very spot frozen and quiet. Seiya was getting a little impatient just waiting for her to turn and face him plus her sudden unresponsiveness worried him.

"What's wrong, Light?" The moment Seiya stepped in front of her, Usagi turned away trying her best to hide her reddish face from him.

"I'm… I'm… fi-fine…" Usagi lied while making herself stare at a pebble on the floor. She wasn't sure if she could handle looking into his dazzling midnight eyes without blushing even more since her palms were already covered with sweat.

"No, you are not. Are you avoiding me, Light?" Seiya concluded, sounding a little grief as he continued staring down at her hidden face. "I'm sorry. Have I done something that upset you?"

As soon as Usagi heard his apology, she instantly looked up at him, revealing her dark red face, "No! You did nothing wrong! Please don't apologize…!"

She earnestly clasped onto his front vest unable to let him continue sputtering out apologies and taking the blame. Why was he apologizing for? He did nothing. It was her excessive shyness that was to be blame. Usagi couldn't quite understand her sudden anxiousness around Seiya after hearing what Minako told her and the fact that she secretly began imagining lustful affection with him made everything worse.

"Please believe me… It's not your fault…" She persisted with big insisting eyes.

Seiya couldn't help but giggled out of relief. "You scare me a moment there. I thought you were starting to hate and avoid me…"

"BAKA!" Usagi shouted unexpectedly, bringing everyone's attention.

"There's no way I can hate you!" She stared determinedly into Seiya's widened eyes of shock. "Baka Seiya! You know nothing! You don't understand that whenever I look at you, my heartbeat will raise like crazy! And that my face will burn terribly!"

Her loud confession had bought an entire crowd around them as she sobbed through her words, wiping her own tears with both hands at the same time "Baka! You don't know how much I love you! You don't understand the pain I felt whenever you are not by my side… Everyday, every hour, every minutes and seconds I want to be with you… But whenever I look at you, you just took my breath away… I can't help it… can't help feeling nervous around you…" Her cries softened. "Baka… How can you still think that I'll avoid you when I love you so much…"

Seiya could only stare back at the crying maiden wordlessly. Please don't let this be a dream. She had just confessed her love for him, the strong affection that he once believed she would never develop on him.

People were looking and whispering about them, but nothing around Seiya mattered anymore. His focus was now all on her as he lovingly placed his hands over her wet cheeks. His thumb slid under her eyes, wiping her tears away. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead delicately, cautious not to scare her.

"I'm sorry. Will you please forgive me for not understanding your feelings?" His arms moved down to her waist, locking her within him. Even if he was not forgiven, he was not allowing her to run away from him.

To his surprise, Usagi's hands found their way around his waist as she affectionately embraced him. "How can I not forgive you, baka... " she muttered softly in between her sniffs making Seiya grin so wide that the edges of his mouth started to sting.

They broke apart slowly, but Seiya kept his fingers intertwined around her back. He looked down into her mesmerizing sky-blue eyes devotedly, "I love you, Light."

Usagi couldn't help but blush a deep red again. "Can… Can you please say it again?" Despite her shyness, she boldly requested. She would never get tired of hearing those three words from him which brought an unexplainable ecstasy down her veins. It was an indescribable feeling. The way he said it, his tone, and his voice were all overflowing with love. Never in her life had she heard words this perfect.

"I love you... I love you…" Seiya repeated with light chuckling before pulling her back into his arms. "My love for you is endless… Many times, even now… I want to steal you away from everything, every existence just to keep you by my side… and I will do anything just to see you smile…"

"You can't steal me, silly…" Usagi giggled lightly at Seiya confused expression before tipping her toes up and whispered into his ear, "Because I'm already yours…"

The smile that was etched across Seiya's face after hearing those words could be seen from a far distance away.

"I will truly smile whenever I'm with you…" She adoringly ran her fingers down his charming face, admiring his beautiful smile. "And I will follow you wherever you go…"

"Really?" He amorously planted a kiss on her delicate hand and held it against his cheek. "Even hell?"

"Yes, even hell." She looked at him with eyes of pure devotion and he shared the equal gazed as the couple came closer together. His lips soon met hers lightly. They were lost in their own world, blinded with love, completely oblivious by the many pairs of eyes focused on them. They had attracted a massive crowd of townspeople who stood there awed by their intimacy.

Then, the audiences clapped at once, creating a thunderous amount of noise that finally brought Usagi's attention back to her surrounding.

She broke away from the kiss and gasped at the mass of people encircling around them.

"Congratulation! Congratulation!"

She heard rapid cheers and saw many smiles. Her shyness made an instant rebirth flashing her lovely face with a deep blush. What had she done? She had just confessed limitlessly in front of all these people and even performed such intimate public display of affection?

"I would die to have a fiancé like him!" A short girl pointing at Seiya screamed.

"Gosh! I'm so jealous…" another cried.

"_Fiancé?!"_ Usagi's blush grew twice as dark at the proclaim made.

But she couldn't react much further on this comment as Seiya impatiently hoisted her up in his arms. The surrounding girls made another envious scream at his bold action.

"Seiya! Everyone is staring! Put me down!" She hissed into his ears.

"Everyone is staring because you look so beautiful. They will definitely try to steal you away if I were to put you down." Seiya's opposition had Usagi blushing further as she tried to hide her red face in the crook of his arms. What Usagi didn't notice which Seiya took note of were the perverted expression imprinted on every men's faces as they stared lustfully at her.

Seiya glared fiercely at them, sending his death warning to all those that even dare to think about snatching his maiden away. The Dark Lord intimidating presence caused all men to fall back and hearts to freeze as the crowd obediently dispersed creating a path for the Hell King and his maiden in his arms.

"Isn't that the presence of the Dark Lord?" An evil grin was seen from a remote distance. "We've finally obtained the Lost Light's location."

* * *

On the nearby road, a noble carriage was transporting a group of royalty to the city palace. Inside sat King Tsukino, Princess Kakyuu with her two personal female guards Rei and Makoto. The King glanced at his grouchy daughter and sighed, "Kakyuu, you should know I am doing this for you own good…"

"For my own good?!" Kakyuu flared. "Arranging me to marry some unknown prince is for my own good?!"

"Kakyuu, Prince Sakyo is the future King of this town, Zuka." King Tsukino tried convincing. "You will be the Queen if you married him…"

"I never once said I wanted to be the Queen of this ordinary town!" Kakyuu exclaimed aloud. "You are always so unfair, Father! You allowed Usagi to choose whom she wants to be with but not me?! I am to marry an unknown prince but she gets to be with the Celestial Knight?! Why Father?! It's so unfair! I am your real daughter! Not her!"

"Kakyuu…" But something outside of the carriage caught King Tsukino's attention. "Stop! Hold the horses, men!" He eagerly urged.

Kakyuu along with Rei and Makoto followed King Tsukino out of the carriage as he made a dash towards the young man with a golden maiden in his arms.

"Usagi! Usagi!" King Tsukino loud calls had Seiya turning around to face him.

"Father!" Usagi shrieked in disbelief as Seiya gently set her down to the ground allowing her to reunite with her family.

"Oh, Usagi! I've missed you so much…" King Tsukino holding closely onto his daughter exclaimed.

"I've missed you too, Father." Usagi smiled delightfully. Kakyuu on the other hand glared displeasingly at Usagi while Rei and Makoto hurried forth to embrace their beloved friend.

"It's very nice to be able to meet you again, Sir." Seiya politely greeted King Tsukino.

"It's nice to see you too, Celestial Knight." King Tsukino replied with a smile.

"What brings you here, Father?" Usagi asked keenly.

"We are here for Kakyuu's engagement celebration." King Tsukino responded.

"Kakyuu is getting engaged?" Usagi held a surprised look as she glanced over to the unhappy lady behind her father and pondered whether to congratulate her upon remembering Kakyuu dislikes for her ever since young.

"Yes! To the prince of this city, Zuka." King Tsukino stated. "They will be holding a grand ball tonight as their engagement announcement and it will be really nice if the two of you were to turn up. What do you say, Usagi? Would you and the Celestial Knight be joining us for the dance ball tonight?" King Tsukino was hoping for an agreement, since he would love to see his beloved daughter for a night longer.

"Dance ball?" Usagi gazed up at Seiya waiting for his response. To be frank, she wasn't fond of royalty parties and balls but since it was Kakyuu official engagement celebration and she gets to spend more time with her family, she was hoping that Seiya would agreed to it.

"Will you honour me as your partner then?" Seiya surprised her with the request.

"Of course, I will!" Usagi nodded keenly and flashed him a big smile, happy that he agreed but even happier to have him as her dance partner. It had always been a dream of hers to dance with him ever since a thousand years ago, which fate never did give them a chance to fulfil then.

"But, we don't have any appropriate attire to wear for the grand ball…" Usagi looking back at her father testified.

"That's not a problem." King Tsukino proclaimed. "There are many nice ball gowns and suits in the palace of Zuka and with my close relationship with King Zuran, I am sure that he will be more than happy to provide them out to you for tonight's ball."

"Really?" Usagi was pleased. At least they wouldn't have to go looking for a place that sells proper attire for a grand ball.

"Yes. We're currently on our way to the palace…" King Tsukino suggested. "Why don't you come along with us, Usagi?"

Usagi gazed up at Seiya once more, quietly asking for his opinion.

"It would be convenient, wouldn't it?" Seiya replied thoughtfully as he patted her on the head while she smiled back at him with a nod.

"You will be coming too right?" Usagi asked hopefully.

"Of course. I am not letting you leave my sight even for a second."

"What about Ami-chan and the others? Shouldn't they be informed?" Usagi was concerned about her friends being left out.

"Don't worry. This town isn't that big…" Seiya shrugged uncaringly. "They can find me easily if they really want to. Besides, Yaten and Taiki dislike ball event. They hate the attention."

"But, you dislike it too right?" Usagi was now feeling guilty for involving him in upon remembering Seiya's dislike for royalty events.

"Normally, yes… But, not this one…"

"Why?" Usagi asked with a confuse look.

"Because I have you as my partner." He answered smoothly making Usagi blushed a little as he slipped his hand into hers and locked it.

Watching their intimacy, King Tsukino didn't know what to feel. On one-side, he was a protective father who didn't wish to see his daughter get intimate with another man but on the other hand, he wanted her to be happy, which she obviously was. No one was blind enough as not to notice that bright smile drawn on her face when Seiya led her to the carriage.

On the other side, Kakyuu wasn't very pleased at how blissful Usagi's life was. During their trip to the Zuka palace, she was secretly hoping that the Celestial Knight would notice her, but his focus was all on the golden maiden seated on his lap as he possessively wrapped his arms around her securing her inside him.

She glimpsed much to her exasperation, the way Usagi giggled at something Seiya whispered to her. Jealousy flashed in Kakyuu's eyes when she witnessed Seiya planting a kiss on the top of Usagi's head sweetly making her blush at his public display of affection.

Feeling the spite of envious, Kakyuu glanced away as she tried to focus on the passing trees outside of the window. The carriage was going uphill, away from the downtown as they came closer to their destination, the castle that was situated at the very peak of the mountain overlooking the grand sea, Zuka Palace.

* * *

"Wow! Usagi! Is that real diamond?" Rei exclaimed loudly before everyone began to stare at the Millennium Star on Usagi's left ring finger in amazement.

Usagi blinked, too shock to respond. She couldn't possibly tell them that it was actually a legendary star that appeared once every Millennium by which the Dark Lord got it down for her. Definitely nobody would believe that.

"I guess so…" She nodded uncomfortably before realizing that everyone in the big dressing room was now staring at her and the Millennium Star, including the maids, Kakyuu and various other princesses who were initially selecting their outfits.

Usagi looked down embarrassingly. She was definitely not here to seek attention or show off her fancy jewellery.

"Was it from the Celestial Knight?" Makoto inquired, gesturing the majestic ring.

Usagi nodded shyly.

"Wow! I would die to have someone to give me that!" Rei cried aloud as she leaned nearer to Usagi to admire the ring some more. "It's breathtaking! Unspeakably beautiful, Usagi!"

Rei temptingly gripped Usagi's hand up bringing the ring closer to her face. The splendour ring gave off incessantly brilliant pink sparkles, drawing all eyes of admiration onto it. Some even craned their heads up just to catch a full view of her and the ring.

"He must love you a lot…" Makoto told Usagi making her smile brightly at the remark.

She couldn't wait for the grand ball to start so she'd finally get to return back to Seiya. She was missing him already and couldn't wait to see how great he would turn out to be even though she was certain he'll look flawless no matter what he wears. Usagi blushed a soft pink at the thought of him and was immediately caught by Rei.

"Missing him already?" Rei asked with a wink.

Usagi gasped softly as her blush darkened.

"I would if I were you!" Rei laughed at her shyness. "I'm so jealous of you, Usagi… To have such a wonderful fiancé. He's good-looking, strong and most importantly, he loves you so much."

"Fiance?!" Usagi exclaimed in shock, her cheeks were seen doubling the redness. "He's… He's… not my fiancé…"

They threw her a shock look. "What?! He's not? Isn't this your engagement ring?"

"It's… It's our promise ring…" She asserted with her face down.

"Hmmm? It must be one very precious promise considering the ring's worth." Rei analysed.

"It is…" Usagi nodded with a tender smile as she gazed warmly down at the Millennium Star.

Then, a lady who had her curly blonde hair tied up behind her head approached Usagi. From her appearance, she was most probably a princess of some neighbouring town.

"Excuse me, but may I know where you got that ring from?" She was referring to the Millennium Star. "I've never seen a diamond ring quite like that before. It's really lovely and I was intending to have my fiancé to get it for me."

Before Usagi could even generate out an appropriate answer, more girls came budging in with more questions about her ring.

"Yes! Please let us know where we can get it from." a girl cried.

"Does the ring have a name?" she heard a shout.

"How much does it worth? I bet it's nothing under a million…" Another question poured in.

Usagi was speechless for seconds as she attempted to come up with an appropriate response, but nothing registered in her head. There was no way she could tell them the truth, that the ring was from the night sky and that it was impossible to obtain it unless their fiancé was the supreme Dark Lord. As the girls around her began pouring in more questions, Usagi was quietly debating on a convincing answer within her head.

"I don't see anything to be impressed about…"

All the girls including Usagi turned towards the frowning Kakyuu.

"It's just a diamond ring… Anyone can get it with money." Kakyuu commented in a scowl.

"No…" Usagi protested softly. "The Millennium Star is priceless. Seiya went through a lot of trouble to get it for me…"

If it could be avoided, Usagi would never engage herself in any disagreement with Kakyuu, but she couldn't allow anyone to disdain the Millennium Star's essential. The ring held their thousand years old memories and promise, and Usagi cherished it more than her life.

Kakyuu glared at Usagi angrily for a second longer before turning away and slamming the door violently as she exited the room.

"What's with her?" The rest of the girls were heard muttering among themselves before turning their attention back to Usagi.

"Oh! So his name is Seiya..." they began pouring questions all over again. "Is he a royalty? A prince of a big empire maybe?"

Usagi didn't quite understand why she had became the central topic but everyone seemed to be really interested and wanted to know more. Girls are maniacs when it comes to diamonds, clothes and boys.

It didn't take her long to become friends with all these princesses as they began to doll her up in their favours.

"Hey, Usagi! Try this! Try this! We are pretty sure it will look lovely on you!" a group of them shoved a ball gown at Usagi before ushering her into the changing room.

Usagi sighed, it was her tenth change of clothes and she was getting tired of trying on gowns after gowns. She reluctantly stripped and slipped into the evening dress before peering into the mirror and smile lightly.

It was a perfect fit.

The full-length gown reaching to the floor was made of luxurious fabric, delicately and exotically trimmed. Its colour of dark reddish-brown portrayed her really well, clearly showing off her smooth fair skin. The gown upper half was a cut-off of the shoulder with décolleté neckline. Usagi tried pulling the low décolletage higher as it was revealing too much of her chest, believing that her possessive lover won't like to have her showing too much skin in public.

"Are you done, Usagi?!" she heard the girls shouted. Peering at the mirror for the last time, she withdrew the curtain and stepped out of the tiny enclosure to show her friends.

"Wow! You look like a goddess, Usagi! It looks great on you!" They didn't have to look long before they convinced her to wear it for the ball. Rei twirled her couple of times more before another girl grabbed her by the wrist, "Come! Let me do the make-up for you!"

They got her seated before a dressing mirror and began covering her face with light power, carefully applying the black liners to enhance her sky-blue eyes, spreading little pinkish blushes onto her rosy cheeks and wrapping everything up by painting her lips with another set of bright pink.

"Is it done?" Usagi asked impatiently.

But strangely, she got no reply from any of them. Everyone was just staring straight at her with the most amazed look on their faces.

Usagi blinked, wondering why they weren't responding to her question. She turned around and caught her reflection in one of the full-length mirror for the first time. She froze, not recognizing herself in the mirror. She looked different but she didn't know whether she looked good or not considering she had never wore made-up before. It had her wondering what Seiya would think of her current looks. Though she knew he would definitely say she looked beautiful, she was eager to see his facial expression or mainly because she was simply missing him way too much.

"He will definitely fall for you all over again…" Makoto convinced as she clasped a necklace of white pearls around her neck.

Usagi smiled shyly at her remark before peering back at her own reflection. She couldn't wait to see Seiya as being separated from him was starting to get unbearable for her, even though it was only for a few hours. It doesn't matter how much time they spend together, it just wasn't enough to fill up the thousand years' gap of separation. To most people, their relationship may seemed beautiful, flawless and the dream of all girls but few knows how much they had to suffer and endure through just to be able to see each other for a moment more. Usagi understood that her life with Seiya will never be simple and maybe their relationship was not even meant to be, but she wanted to believe that they could overcome any obstacles ahead and that their story would end with a happily ever after…

* * *

"Did you see him?! Where is he?!" A mob of girls screamed.

Seiya was hiding at the far-end corner as he tried to conceal himself from the crowd of pursuing girls. He sighed quietly, regretting on his decision to wander around the palace for a bit. He should have just stayed in the dressing room till the grand ball officially started to avoid all this irritating attention. But, his concerns for Usagi rose rapidly as he wasn't able to shake off the uncomfortable feeling that something bad was about to happen tonight. It further worried him when he couldn't even sense any strange presence around. All he wanted to do now was to find Usagi before anything bad was to happen to her. He definitely didn't want to lose her again and wasn't ready to endure another separation.

"There he is! There he is!"

Seiya heard a bunch of female screaming but didn't look back. Instead he shoved open the nearest window and hastily leap off, landing steadily outside the palace backyard and without dirtying his creamy white suit. As he wandered around the yard, trying his best to locate a way to get back in, he noted slight flickering from the night sky.

Glaring up at the dark heaven, he breathed softly, "It's starting already? You don't give me a break do you?"

He glanced away as he took a few steps forward, "Bring it on… Whoever you are… for I've no intention to lose Light to anyone… not to any of you filthy gods… No one…! Not even fate!"


	27. The Romantic Night & the Cruel Fate

_--_

**The Romantic Night and the Cruel Fate**

--

As Usagi sauntered down the hallway, she was surprised to note the massive number of guests that were piling in, gathered in large clumps. Everyone was dressed in their best clothes with their partners by their sides. All ladies wore full-skirted gowns reaching at least to their ankles while men were attired in formal tailcoats. Usagi was totally oblivious by the many pair of eyes focused on her as she wandered through the large ballroom in search for Seiya. There were so many people everywhere making it seemed impossible for her to find him successfully. She craned her head up, trying her hardest in hope to spot someone with a long, black ponytail but everyone just sort of blended into one colorful splotch before her eyes.

Then, a familiar voice called out from behind, "Usagi?"

Usagi spun around only to find her father, Kakyuu and three other gentlemen approaching her. "Father? Kakyuu…"

There was a few seconds of awkward silence as all the men just stared at Usagi with amazement. She definitely wasn't like any other girl they had met before. Her breathtaking beauty caught them speechless. In the eyes of all men present, the luxuriously-dressed maiden standing before them had beauty so wonderful that the poverty of language was unable to express it due praise. Even King Tsukino was caught in fascination by his daughter current appearance.

Their intensive stares had Usagi looking down out of embarrassment. She clearly couldn't understand the attention and was feeling extremely uncomfortable to have all eyes concentrated on her. On the other hand, Kakyuu was trying her best to suppress her raging jealousy from taking over her emotion as she did not wish to spoil her image in front of her fiancé and his family.

"Oh… Yes… Usagi, I will like you to meet the King of Zuka, King Luci and his two sons, Prince Sakyo and Prince Taiyo." King Tsukino finally regaining his senses introduced. "And, this is my daughter, Usagi…"

Usagi graciously bowed before the three royalties after her father's introduction.

"I didn't know you had another daughter, King Tsukino." King Luci stated in surprise, still staring at the beautiful maiden.

"Yes… and such a beautiful one too…" Prince Sakyo muttered, making Kakyuu scowled with extreme displease at her fiancé compliment.

Prince Taiyo gave his brother a nudge with his elbow reminding him that already had Kakyuu making Prince Sakyo frowned slightly at the reminder.

"By any chance is Princess Usagi engaged to any royalty?" Prince Taiyo asked in hope to have the beauty as his bride.

King Tsukino raised his eyebrows questionably at Usagi who was seen blushing slightly at Prince Taiyo's question. She wasn't certain whether her current status could be acknowledged as Seiya's fiancée, but she couldn't deny the fact that she wished to get married to him. He had indeed proposed to her before by which Usagi regretted not answering as now she couldn't officially pronounce herself as his future bride.

"I presume she's not then…" Prince Taiyo assumed before adding. "May I…"

His proposal was interrupted by a dominating presence that abruptly appeared from behind of Usagi. "Are you trying to propose to **MY** Light, Mr?"

All attention flew to the charming young man who was now standing behind the golden maiden. Usagi hastily turned around and her head jerked up at the sound of an all too familiar voice.

"Seiya!" A delighted grin broke out across Usagi's face. Much to everyone's surprise, she threw her arms around his neck, embracing him tightly.

"Seiya! Seiya! Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!"

Seiya smiled and half-hugged her back, whispering into her ears, "Me too… I've been searching for you for hours…"

All eyes watched as the closely attached couple peered admiringly into each other's radiance blue eyes. Seiya could feel his heart thumb as he slowly scanned over the beauty before him. His mouth slid open in awe. Only one thought registered in his head and that was how entrancingly beautiful he thought she was right now.

On the other hand, Usagi's heart stopped momentarily upon noting his stunningly perfect appearance. He looked refreshingly handsome in his creamy white suit that had silk facings, sharply-cut at the front and a small, satin neckerchief resting under the suit's collar, knotted around his throat. Usagi had always thought that Seiya looked magnificent in black, since she was used to seeing him in that color, but now, she favoured him in white as well. His enchanted black hair and mesmerizing dim-blue eyes looked twice as shimmering and attractive against the white suit. She could not set her eyes off the perfection. Someone shouldn't be allowed to look so gorgeous and it had her wondering why she was the only one who got complimented for her beauty.

The eye-catching couple was like a picturesque life-painting as they stood wordlessly with arms around each other, admiring one another's beauty.

"Ahem!" King Tsukino coughed loudly, drawing the couple's attention back.

"I'm sorry!" Usagi apologized anxiously and withdrew herself from Seiya.

A thick blush flashed across her face as she humiliatingly looked down, embarrassed by her public display of affection. One the other hand, Seiya possessively held onto Usagi by her hand, sending a clear message to everyone including Prince Taiyo that this beauty belonged to him.

"This is… ?" King Luci staring at Seiya hitched.

"Oh… Let me introduce you…" King Tsukino apprised to King Luci. "He is the world renowned Celestial Knight, Seiya Kou."

"What?! The Celestial Knight?!" Everyone exclaimed together in absolute shock.

Much to Usagi's displease, ladies were heard shrieking upon knowing his identity while men muttered among themselves. After noting the audiences' overwhelming reaction, it had finally occurred to Usagi exactly how famous her lover really was; crazily well-known.

"King Tsukino, are you sure he's not an impostor claming to be the renowned Celestial Knight?" Prince Taiyo frowned slightly.

"Exactly…" Prince Sakyo agreed. "I heard there are plenty of impostors out there, trying to fake their way into benefits by proclaiming themselves as the Celestial Knight."

"Seiya is not an impostor! He's really the Celestial Knight!" Usagi defended aloud much to everyone's surprise, silencing the entire ballroom till Seiya broke it with a light chuckle, feeling rather pleased by Usagi's defensiveness over his reputation.

"It's alright, Light." He told her, gently patting his lover on her head before glaring confidently back at the two princes before him.

"Indeed…" Seiya started.

He took a step forward while the princes took two steps back due to the sudden overbearing pressure as they stared nervously back into his eyes of darkness. "The Celestial Knight is indeed an impostor..."

For some unknown reason, the two royalties found their bodies immobilized onto the ground, unable to move as Seiya firmly placed his hands onto their shoulders, drawing them towards him so he was whispering into their ears from between. "Because his true identity is…" His tone deepened severely. "The King of Hell."

With it, he released his grip and the two young men fell helplessly onto the marble floor.

As soon as the Dark Lord withdrew his presence, all mortals were freed from the brief moment of paralysation.

"What… What happened? Sons, are you alright?"

King Luci, Princess Kakyuu, and a few men aided the traumatized princes up onto their feet. Everyone was seen glancing back and forth at each other, not understanding what had just happened.

"Usagi?" King Tsukino turned around, but to his surprise, neither Usagi nor Seiya was anywhere in sight. The couple was long gone…

--

* * *

--

Everything just passed by like a blink of an eye. All Usagi could remember was Seiya lifting her up into his arms as he took her down the long hallway and through a few doors until they were outside the vast balcony that overlooked the majestic dark sea.

The only thing that registered into Usagi's head was the enchanting smile drawn on Seiya's face as he gently placed her back onto the ground. He positioned her until she was standing directly in front of him. Placing his fingers under her chin, he gazed at her face, tilting his head to the side every so often to get a look at every angle of her beauty.

"Don't just stare at me…" Usagi blushed and covered her face out of embarrassment. "It makes me look so awkward."

"You are not awkward, Light… Please don't hide from me…" Seiya wrapped his finger around her wrists and effortlessly moved her hands away from her face. "You look absolutely stunning." He could see her blush covering her cheeks double in redness as he tenderly ran his fingers down her loveable face.

"Do you know it's a crime to look this enchantingly beautiful?" He breathed into her ear, further darkening her blush. Without hesitation, his arms made their way around her back, seizing her into his warmth. "For your punishment, you shall forever be trap with me."

"That's a nice punishment…" Usagi giggled lightly and hugged him back, "I gladly accept the sentence, my lord."

Seiya smiled delightedly at her response. He turned his face down a bit, pressing his lips against her forehead and keeping his posture there for a few second before pulling away. Usagi craned her head up, letting their lips meet again. Seiya happily kissed her back before grabbing onto her waist, gently lifting her up to deepen the kisses.

Right now, they were living in their world of paradise, for there was no other person or couple who was happier than them. The couple was too distracted to notice the Millennium Star shimmering intensively against the darkness; an acknowledgement of true love. It felt a love so strong existing in their hearts, burning with every passing minute and each second that it couldn't be extinguished by any existence.

The Millennium Star ring looked like a cherry blossom star twinkling beautifully from afar. It gave off another powerful glow as pink glistening essences began to encircle around the couple, telling fate that she could never put off this burning flame of true love no matter what games she played.

--

* * *

--

Several guards and servants were sent out by King Tsukino to search for Usagi's location, and it was only Rei's duty to follow the orders given despite knowing that the princess was definitely safe with the Celestial Knight. She wandered about the palace a bit, keeping a look out for Usagi as she ambled out into the open. As she got closer to the front gate, she glimpsed a group of outsiders negotiating some matters with the on-duty palace guards by the entrance. She strained her eyes as she walked closer only to open them back up with surprise after noting the girl with short-blue hair smiling at her.

"Ami-san?! You are Ami Mizuno, one of our former librarians, am I right?!" Rei exclaimed astonishingly as she scanned through the rest of the group, immediately spotting the two recognizable young men. "And… Aren't the two of you with the Celestial Knight?"

"Who is she?" Haruka asked in low tone.

Both Taiki and Yaten gave him a shoulder shrug, not remembering the lady guard that had once pestered them during their stay in Kinmoku.

"It's been quite a while, Rei-san." Ami smiled lightly. "I'm surprise that you still remember me even though we hardly talked."

"You were always with Princess Usagi, there's no way I can forget you…" Rei instantly followed up with a question. "And why are you here with them?" she pointed at Taiki and Yaten.

"We found them loitering outside without any invitation permits, so we can't allow them into the palace." One of the palace guards answered.

"I told you we should just sneak in…" Minako muttered in displease. The Sweetheart thief hated waiting helplessly in the open or politely asking for an entry.

"I agreed…" Yaten and Haruka nodded together. Both of them couldn't see the convenient in entering the palace openly.

"We are looking for the Celestial Knight and Usagi-hime." Ami looking back at Rei carried on politely.

"What?! I didn't know you were travelling with them!" Rei exclaimed in disbelief.

"They are currently inside, aren't they?" Ami questioned, apparently to be unaffected by Rei's astonishment.

"Hai…" Rei answered. "But, I'm sorry… I can't allow any of you in unless you can provide an invitation permit."

"Is that so?" Ami lowered her head by a little seemingly to be in a thought. "Sorry for any inconvenient cause then, and thank you for your time." Looking back up, Ami showed her gratitude with a slight smile before turning away with her group as they disappeared into the darkness like the night wind.

--

* * *

--

"Is it gone yet?! Is it gone yet?!" Usagi squealed.

She had her face and entire body buried inside Seiya seeking for protection against a mere bee, since she held a strong phobia against the insect.

"No… It's still flying behind you!" Seiya lied with a playful grin, enjoying the maiden tight cling. "It's coming closer!! It's coming closer!!"

"Iiyaa! Call it to go away!!" Usagi cried, drawing herself closer into his chest.

Seiya was laughing crazily in his head at Usagi endearing reaction. Teasing her was way too much fun to stop. He was addicted to her adorable reaction but he always ended up feeling evil for toying with her. Usagi was a pure white angel something totally opposite of him. She always believed in whatever things he said to her, rarely or never doubting his words which made him feel guilty enough to place a stop to his tease.

"Don't worry, it's gone…" He whispered into her ear without letting her go.

Believing his words, Usagi looked up and met his night-sky eyes. Seiya chuckled lightly at her innocence and found himself totally in love with her purity. "I can't believe that you are still afraid of bees."

"There's nothing funny about me fearing bees!" Usagi exclaimed and gave his chest several powerless raps. "It's not nice to be laughing at other's fear just because you do not have one."

"I do have a fear…" Seiya admitted much to Usagi's surprise and she immediately stopped her rapping.

"You do?" Usagi asked in surprise and cocked her head slightly thinking over his words.

Though she rarely distrusted him, it was indeed hard to believe that someone like Seiya actually held a fear. Wasn't he the fearless Dark Lord? It really did sound unreal to know that the King of Hell was afraid of something.

"Wh-what is your fear?" Usagi asked curiously.

She saw his lips curved into a subtle smile before he leaned over to her ear and whispered, "It's a secret."

"That's unfair!" Usagi exclaimed discontentedly. "I want to know! Tell me! Tell me!"

Seiya stuck out his tongue as a hint of rebellion. "Not telling you."

Usagi glared unhappily back at her mischievous lover. She placed her hands on his chest, making an attempt to shove him away out of displease, but it was a waste of effort. He overpowered her easily and didn't want to move away. Knowing there was no way she could ever escape his strong hold, Usagi deliberately looked away, deciding to give Seiya a cold treatment until he submit on telling her about his fear.

As expected, her coldness had Seiya frowning. This was new to him as Usagi had never ignored or get angry at him before. He personally didn't like this very much and knew very well that Usagi had declared a cold war with him. The Dark Lord had never lost a battle before, no matter who his enemies were, but the current opponent standing before him was not like any other he had fought in the past. She was way more powerful than one gazillion enemies combined together, way more important than his life, and the Hell King was feeling powerless against her.

He sighed softly, admitting his defeat. "Hai… Hai… I will tell you…"

"Re-really?"

This made Usagi smile. For once, she had won a disagreement between them. The maiden however did not know that she was the first and probably the last existence to have ever won a conflict against the Dark Lord.

Seiya grinned delightedly, pleased to finally see her smiling for him again. He would do anything to see that beautiful smile of hers. "But, I will only tell you after our dance."

"Eh?!"

Seiya didn't give Usagi a chance to oppose as he grasped her hand in his and led her back into the ballroom. Little to their awareness, all heads turned to them while they proceeded through, pushing amongst the huge crowd before reaching the centre of the grand room.

Despite the on-going music and the many couples dancing around her, Usagi still couldn't register Seiya's intention till he released his grip against her hand and turned around.

"May I have this dance?" He held out his hand to her with the most charming smile she had ever seen him wore in her life.

Usagi could feel her heartbeat rising like crazy as she peered at his strikingly perfect posture. She hadn't seen anyone with such perfection before and words can't describe the gorgeousness he appeared to be in that simple gesture. Usagi blushed, too shy to reply with words, she nodded quietly. Once again, she slipped her hand in his, and his fingers instantly enclosed around her little ones. All eyes witnessed as Seiya took her other hand in his as well before sweeping her off her feet.

It didn't take Usagi very long to realize that Seiya was a good dancer. She was tossed about the dance floor, or so it seemed due to her insufficient dancing abilities. She couldn't feel her feet making contact with the marble floor much as she whirled this way and that way only to be drawn back into his arms every so often.

Usagi soon grew dizzy with all the waltzing and clung onto her partner. To her relief, the music slowed down as Seiya changed his pace to suit the smooth composition. He smiled when her dazzling blue eyes met his and could immediately tell that she was more comfortable with the slow swaying. They continued gazing at each other devotedly while dancing to the romantic song.

For the first time they had ever dance together, it was truly fantastic.

The compatible couple had naturally become the centre of attention. They danced around the axis of the ballroom wordlessly, but even without words, their love was evident. Every move, every turn was done precisely. It almost seemed that they had been rehearsing for weeks and the way their eyes were locked together made their love so clear that it was as if they were reciting Shakespeare to one another. It was love that made them looked perfect together, regardless of what they were doing.

Eventually the song ended, leaving a few notes echoing across the grand room. The audiences applauded at once as Seiya graciously stepped away and bent over towards her before leaving a kiss on the back of her hand. Usagi timidly blushed and withdrew her hand upon noticing the scary amount of attention that was drawn towards them. Seiya grinned at her shyness and took her hand back, keeping a tight grip to prevent her from pulling away from him again.

"That was a truly remarkable dance performance…"

The couple ears perked up at the loud compliment as they turned towards the unidentified voice. They stared at the man wearing a silk top hat low over his brow.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Seiya demanded instantly upon noting that the stranger was definitely not a normal mortal. There was an abnormal aura evolving around him but it wasn't the presence of a demon.

"Pardon my rudeness. I'm Iris, here to send you a message." Iris bowed courteously to Seiya, but said no further. Instead, he had his attention focused on Usagi and boldly told her hand in his much to everyone surprise.

"Don't touch her!" Seiya snapped, yanking Usagi away from Iris before he could plant a kiss on the back of her hand. "Try laying a finger on Light again and I'll not hesitate to send you to hell!"

Seiya continued to hold Usagi in his chest protectively, and she flushed when he moved her to his other side, keeping himself between her and Iris.

"HAHA!! You are still as possessive as a thousand years ago, aren't you, Dark Lord?" A new voice arose.

All heads turned towards the top of the stairway where three men stood behind a thick cast of shadow.

"I hope you still remembered me, Dark Lord." The man in the middle took a step forward.

Seiya glared at the strongly-built young man noting that his dangerously strong presence was not to be underestimated. Furthermore, he knew about his true identity and even dare to stare straight into the Dark Lord's eyes of death which rarely anyone hold the great capabilities to do that. The other two figures revealed themselves, the left was a shockingly muscular man, his half-naked body was covered up with colorful tattoos while the right appeared as a slim, attractive man with long sunlight hair.

Usagi shot a side-glance at Seiya and saw his expression turning tense at the sight of the three strangers.

"Stay behind me… Don't leave my side…" Seiya whispered protectively.

Usagi nodded and obediently concealed herself at the back of Seiya, gripping onto his hand firmly.

"The three of you shouldn't be here…" Iris spoke clearly. "Kronos-sama only sent me down to deliver the statement to the Dark Lord. I don't see the necessary for the divine generals to be here without official orders."

"_Kronos? Divine Generals?"_ Seiya ears perked up with interest at the names mentioned. He remembered now, Kronos, the God of the Rain, Uranus younger brother who later took over his throne to become the third generation's King of God. Angered by Father Sky's decision to side the Dark Lord as one of his sacred generals, Kronos later formed Heaven's five Divine Generals with the God of War, Ares, being the divinity leader.

"Gods, hm?"

Usagi heard Seiya muttered lowly, felt him tightened his hold against her hand, and saw him observed his surroundings with a serious look on his face. The crowded ballroom was definitely no place to start a vicious battle, nonetheless if they were here with the purpose to steal or harm Usagi, he will not hold back his strength to protect her despite the many innocent mortals around him. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed King Tsukino worriedly running towards them.

"What is happening here?" King Tsukino asked anxiously.

The music was still running, but no one was dancing. Instead, they were staring at the three uninvited guests while muttering curiously among themselves.

"Who cares about Kronos?" The red-headed man replied arrogantly. "I am here for the Dark Lord."

"You shouldn't be showing such disrespect to our King, Ares." Iris sounded displease. "From what I know, no official orders were given to attack Hell yet, so for the time being, none of the Divine Generals are needed to be here. I suggested all of you to leave, since you are disrupting my job."

"Who do you think you are to be talking to us like this, Iris?!" The man on the left yelled. "You are just a low, worthless messenger gods' leader! Just because Kronos favours you, that doesn't mean you are the head of us!"

"Hushhhh… Zelos." The right soothed before gazin back at Iris. "We just thought it would be nice to start our job early…"

"Your job starts only when you are given the order to do so, Apollo." Iris argued back justly.

"Enough!" Ares exclaimed aloud. "Whether we have the right to see the Dark Lord has nothing to do with you, Iris!"

"Of course there is. For you are disrupting my job by being here…" Iris calmly spoke back. "If Kronos-sama's statement was not brought through to the Dark Lord, will you take the blame for me, Ares?"

"Hey…" Seiya muttered, interrupting the argument, as he glared severely at Ares before turning his focus back to the messenger god. "I have no patient to be listening to your argument. Tell Kronos, I am not giving Light to anyone!"

The atmosphere turned extremely intense. The crowd was feeling tremendously uncomfortable and weak due to the Dark Lord slowly activating his presence.

"Father…" Usagi pulled away from Seiya and reached down to King Tsukino who couldn't find the strength to stand straight as one of his knees fell helplessly to the ground. The dangerous presence of the Dark Lord had all mortals losing their physical strength.

"Seiya… Don't… Stop it! You are killing them!" Usagi cried.

Seiya's eyes softened as he gazed gently down at his maiden.

"Please Seiya… Don't kill them…" Usagi pleaded earnestly.

Seiya clutched his hands into tight fists with displease. How was he supposed to protect her against four powerful gods if he was to restrain his power? Couldn't she understand the situation here? No, she couldn't, because she was blessed with purity and because no one told her that fate was against them. Just like a pure innocence child, she knew nothing, nothing about the sad fact that they weren't supposed to be together, nothing about his constant worries or fears.

Yes, she knew nothing.

"Seiya!! Please…"

His heart ached upon seeing a tiny tear shed down her lovely face as she pleaded him to withdraw the Dark Lord presence. He eyes were seen closing with distress as he reluctantly stopped his power evolution which immediately brought an end to the mortals suffering, giving them back their life.

"No wonder she's your weakness…" Apollo commented at Seiya's obedience.

"Why?! Dark Lord!! Why did you stop!! Show me your power!! Show me!!"" Ares snapped with extreme discontentment. "Since when did you become this weak, Dark Lord!!"

The God of War was trembling in rage at the Hell King's soft-side. The ruthless Dark Lord was his one and only worthy opponent; the legend strongest who showed no mercy to any existence whether they were the living or the dead, and to witness his compassionate because of the maiden was a total knock back to Ares.

"I will never forgive you!!" Ares glared furiously at Usagi who was aiding King Tsukino up onto his feet. "YOU!! The Maiden of the Light!! YOU ARE THE CAUSE OF THE DARK LORD'S FLAWS!!"

Usagi innocently gazed up at the angry Ares not understanding his words.

"THE DARK LORD WEAKNESS SHALL END HERE!!"

Then, everything went by like a blur. All Usagi could remember was feeling an enormous blast of fiery energy coming from Ares, hearing Seiya cried out her name and the God of War disappearing from the top stairway.

It stopped there…

She didn't realized what happened next…

All she could see now was fresh redness slowly diffusing a creamy-white surface.

"Seiya…"

Time froze as Usagi's world went blank at the shocking sight before her.

There was a big fury blade stabbing out from Seiya's front abdomen and blood was gushing out from the deadly pierce, dying his classy creamy-white suit red! She saw him slowly falling towards her, but she couldn't grab him into her arms. Someone pulled her away from him and the next thing she knew, she was no longer in the ballroom but outside the vast balcony that overlooked the grand sea.

Usagi's mind was still blank from all that had just happened, in a disable state to generate or accept the fact that Seiya had just used his body to shield her from Ares' attack.

"No… This must be a nightmare!! A horrible nightmare!! Wake up!! Wake up!!" Usagi insanely cried out aloud.

Then, she felt someone shaking her vigorously and the forceful vibration brought her sense back.

She blinked at her father who was still shaking her, "Usagi!! Usagi!! Are you alright?!" King Tsukino asked worriedly.

"Father…" She instinctively glanced around her surrounding finally realizing that she was in the open and wasn't alone. There were panicking faces and anxious cries everywhere, and all men and guards had their back against the balcony's double-sided door, securing it in hope to prevent any possible intrusion from getting in to them.

"Sei…ya…" Usagi's body was trembling controllably and unrestrained tears escaped when the devastating reality finally sank in.

"SEIYA!!" Usagi yelled and desperately tried to move forward but she was held back by King Tsukino strong grip.

"Let me go, Father!! Let me go!! Seiya… Seiya is still inside!! He's inside!! Hurt… and blood… blood everywhere… all over him…" She cried, clinching onto her hairs out of extreme devastation and internal pain. Her reckless grasp tangled her neatly done up hair, causing it to come undone.

She understood very well that Seiya could have easily deflected the attack if she hadn't pleaded him to stop exploiting his power. Her outrageous guilt and worries were killing her sense, causing Usagi to lose control of herself again as she struggled desperately to break loose from King Tsukino's pull back.

"I need to get back to him!! SEIYA!! SEIYA!!"

"No!! It's dangerous inside!!" King Tsukino opposed firmly. He forcefully held her back to the edge of the spacious balcony where all the ladies stood, in a safe distance away from the closed entrance. After ordering Kakyuu to look after her, King Tsukino rushed back front to the doorway with an attempt to help in securing the lock.

Usag's body reactively tried pushing her way out of the crowd once more, but a hand seized her, instantly stopping her desire. She spun around, only to see Kakyuu holding firmly onto her. "I am not allowing you to return back to him."

"You should just disappear…" Kakyuu murmured.

Then, before she knew it, her back was already hitting the edge of the balcony baluster. Usagi glimpsed at Kakyuu's evil grin before feeling a harsh shove against her chest, literally. Her feets were no longer touching the ground. Usagi reached out her hand but got hold of nothing. She was falling slowly, away from the high balcony, away from her desire, away from him...

She wanted to scream, but no words came out. She couldn't even breathe! Her mind wasn't channelling anything else except for the flashing images of a particular young man.

"_SEIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"_

_--_

* * *

--

"_Light?!"_

Seiya felt an anguishing pain. No! It wasn't from the severe blade stab, but something even more torturing. As he laid motionlessly on his front, he shivered helplessly at the overwhelming emotional pain that was killing him unconsciously. He was feeling his fear, together with complete emptiness, and an agonizing pain of losing something more essential than his existence.

He made no attempt to get back up, and took no interest to understand what was going on around him. He had no idea that Mercury had set a time void around him, temporary freezing his external injuries and that his angered comrades were currently in a vicious battle against the three divine generals.

"How pathetic has the Dark Lord become…" Ares claimed, licking Seiya's blood off his broad blade. "I am not here to fight him in such a wretched state!! He's supposed to give me a challenge, yet he died this easily?!"

"The Dark Lord can never die…"

Ares turned his focus to a hovering masked figure before him.

"So… You are the infamous, Priestess of the Time…" Ares smirked at Mercury. "I heard that you are undefeated, just like the past Dark Lord…"

"Past?" Mercury quoted the word. "Don't' be mistaken, you haven't defeated our lord yet… You see, our lord doesn't even notice your existence to get serious on you."

But even before Ares could argue back, he noted a horizontally spread of sharp wind emerging towards him. He smirked, deflecting the wind attack with his broadsword back to the attacker. Taiki dodged the deflection easily much to Ares expectation.

"Mercury, leave this guy to me…" Taiki stated firmly. "We need you to treat Seiya's injuries…"

The priestess nodded silently and hovered back into her time void.

"What makes you think you can hold a victory against me, Templar?" Ares smirked in confident.

"I will never forgive anyone who tried to hurt Seiya!"

With it, the two men charged forward.

--

On the other hand, a set of brother, each holding a diverse bow was seen aiming their next shot at one another.

"I am so happy to see you, Artemis." Apollo smiled at his brother.

"I am not feeling the same…" Yaten replied sternly. He saw Apollo changing his gaze to Minako who was standing behind him.

"I've missed you so much, my dear Venus… You are still as beautiful as ever…"

"You are not going anywhere near her!" Yaten confirmed in a serious tone making Minako blushed slightly at his protectiveness.

"I've all the intention of wanting her back!" Apollo straightened his grin as the brothers released their shot.

--

"So, you are Kronos-sama's older brother, Uranus?" The muscular man smashed the marble ground with his gigantic hammer. "Very nice to meet you, Father Sky. I'm Zelos, and they called me the God of Strength!" With it, he dealt another fierce blow to the floor around Haruka, causing the thunder god to move back.

"Show me what you've got! Father Sky!!"

"Thunder Strike!" A thick lighting wrath penetrated through the high ceiling, dealing a direct hit on Zelos. Instead of getting hurt and falling, the God of Strength stood steadily on his feet with an assuring grin spread across his face.

"I've absorbed your strength…" Zelos stared straight at the shocked Haruka. "Power Strengthen"

Zelos activated his hammer to grow twice the size of its origin after it had consumed Harkua's thundering energy. But for some reason, he wasn't able to charge forward as he found himself frozen to the ground. He glimpsed at his feet, only to notice thick plant creepers entrapping his ankles, locking him down.

"Very nice to meet you, Zelos." A lady spoke from behind. "I'm Michiru, but they called me Mother Nature, Gaia."

More green creepers came from all direction, "Sorry, but I am not allowing any one to hurt Haruka…"

--

"My Lord, are you giving up to fate?" Mercury asked sadly as she continued treating Seiya's injury.

"Give up?" Seiya repeated, chuckling in disbelief. "Will I need to wait another thousand years again if I don't?"

He closed his eyes slowly, holding back his urge to cry. "I don't want to give up… but… How cruel… how cruel… fate…"

"Yes… Indeed… she is…" Mercury agreed in a soft emotional tone, remembering her father's fate. "But, don't lose to her… My Lord, you can't lose…"

"It's so tough… so impossible…" Seiya finally confessed agonizingly. "I fear so much… I'm scared to see her, to hold onto her only to lose her again… to lose her again… No matter how hard I tried to keep her by my side, she would just disappear in the end… Why? Why is it so?"

Seiya's eyes shot back opened in rage. "Why?! Why did you even let us meet in the first place if you don't allow us to be together?! Why?! Fate?! Answer me!! Show yourself and answer me!!"

"My Lord…" Mercury stopped her treatment as she gazed sadly down at her suffering king. The rest of the gods paused their attacks on each other, changing their focus to Seiya, each of them holding distinctive expressions toward the Dark Lord's devastation.

"Shouldn't the Divine Generals be leaving already?" Iris, the leader of all messenger gods finally spoke. He had kept himself free from any attack as he wasn't given any order to go against the Hell gods. "It's inappropriate to be holding a fight without Kronos-sama consent." He had his eyes set on Ares, "You won't like it when Kronos-sama gets angry."

"Kronos… Kronos…" Ares muttered displeasingly. "One day I am going to defeat him too." He turned away from the sacred generals, an action of retreat.

"Leaving already?" Apollo asked deliberately.

"Ya… I'm bored!" Ares affirmed. "I am here to battle the true Dark Lord, not one that has no intention to fight me."

He then tilled his head and glared at Seiya, "Dark Lord, the next time we meet, it will be an official war..."

"I will definitely defeat you then…"

--


	28. Lonely Hearts: A Meeting with Fate

--

**Lonely Hearts: A Meeting with Fate**

--

Her motionless body felt heavy and soaked as she lied afloat on the drifting dark sea.

She lifted her heavy eyelids, keeping them half-opened as she stared hopelessly at the starless night sky. There was nothing else besides darkness. Where were the stars? Where was the moon? Where was she?

No matters.

Nothing matters anymore. She gave up struggling. It was hopeless, everything. She lost her heart to believe, her soul to live and her strength to carry on. She was broken, deeply.

Why? Why could she still feel wetness in her eyes? Was it the drizzling rain or was it her tears? No, it must be the raindrops because she was feeling too weak to even shed a tear. Yes, she was weak, very weak. Would she die just like that? Her lips curved slightly at the thought of it. Dying sounded good. Maybe if she died, she would be able to see him again, in hell. Yet again, maybe not, because she clearly understood that her soul belonged to heaven. Yes, whether she was alive or dead, she would never be able to see him again. Whether a thousand years ago or a thousand years later, they could never be together. She finally understood now that it was fate's play behind their destiny, forbidding them to be together ever since creation. She could no longer hold onto the heaviness, the torture, and agony to fight against their fate.

She quitted.

"_You win… fate. You win."_

The drizzling didn't stop, rapidly damping her lovely face as a thoughtful replacement for her dry tears. Soon, her lids became too heavy to bear as she gradually closed them without realizing that the sea had drifted her onshore.

Still conscious, she heard voices and approaching footsteps.

"Are you alright?" an unclear voice called out.

Using all her available strength, she battled to raise her lids in half. There she saw, a familiar pair of colored eyes, dark-blue.

"Sei…ya…"

In her current feeble state, she didn't know what compelled her to even find the strength to voice out softly. Then she felt herself being lifted into his arms before completely losing conscious.

--

* * *

--

"Hey, Jing!" A young girl with shoulder-length dark hair called out to her cousin. "JING!! HELLO!!"

"Huh… Huh?" The young man spun around, finally breaking his attention on the beauty that he had been staring for minutes. "Oh, Hotaru, it's you…" He glimpsed down at his cousin whose face held an annoyed expression. "What is it?"

"What is it?! I've been calling you for the fifth time already!" Hotaru snapped at him. "The ship is about to make its landing at Kyoto. We need you to give the orders around!"

"Hummm…" Jing nodded inattentively, continuing his gaze at the beautiful blonde standing at the end of the side-deck as she stared emotionlessly out to the open sea. "I give you the permission… you do the arrangement…"

"I do the arrangement?! You are the captain here! I shouldn't be doing your job!" Hotaru exclaimed out of obvious displease. She glared angrily at her irresponsible cousin who still wasn't looking at her. "Stop acting like a stalker, will you?" She agitatedly pulled his long, light blue hair that he had neatly tied high up behind his head.

"Hey… Hey! Stop… Stop it!" Jing protested as he gripped onto Hotaru's wrist, forcing her to let go of her hold.

"You stop it!" Hotaru pointed her index at him. "You had been acting like this for months! Ever since you rescued Usagi to the crew, you hadn't been doing your job right!"

"Hey! I am the Ship Captain here!" Jing argued back. "Since when do I have to listen to your lecture, little girl?"

"Yes! I am so glad you still know that you are the ship captain!" Hotaru pointing her finger at Usagi continued. "I thought you only remember her and nothing else! Let me remind you again what you are out at the sea for…" She folded her arms. "That is to find your father, Poseidon! Do you still remember, huh? HUH? Or have you lost your interest in finding the route to Atlantis?"

"Ya… ya … ya…" Jing getting tired of Hotaru nagging gave in. His younger cousin was like his caretaker, with her constant nagging and motherly-ordering. He wasn't complaining though, since she was the only one who truly cared for him and even voluntarily agreed to travel the seas with him in search for his biological father, Poseidon, the God of the Sea, whose main reside was believed to be at the legendary island, Atlantis.

He as a half-god, half-mortal was spare from aging, however he suffered the agony of witnessing his human mother, other relatives and friends died through their old ages. He wasn't sure how long he had live or how many generations of relatives he had seen through. Hotaru being the fortieth generation maybe.

It had been made very clear to him that he doesn't belong to the mortal world and that was what brought him on the conquest to find his godly father. Nothing interested him, really. He had lived through long enough to experience all that was left to see on earth, not until he saw Usagi was he finally able to find an interest on.

"I will be at the main deck in a minute time, alright?" He sighed, shooing his younger cousin away.

"You better be!" Hotaru warned with a frown. "Work first, stalk later…" She gave him a last reminder before disappearing off to help the other crewmates.

Jing let out another tiring sigh before focusing his attention back to the end of the side-deck. To his relief, the golden maiden was still standing where he last saw her, completely alone. Usually, all his perverted crewmates would find reasons to be somewhere around her much to his displease, but everyone was too busy right now with preparation to be seeking such opportunities.

The sad expression imprinted on her face could be seen from where Jing was standing. She took a last glimpse at the splendour pink ring that was inserted around her ring finger before gazing back to the blue sea and sky, as if she was hoping for something or someone to appear. For months, she had her vision at no one and no where else except the open blue. She was always seen standing at the border deck, looking out into the sea in the day, observing the sky in the night seemingly to be waiting for the arrival of a particular person.

The more he watched the lonely maiden, the more he wondered who exactly she was waiting for. Generally, he didn't know much about the beauty besides her name given that she rarely spoke any word to anyone including him; approximately, less then ten sentences throughout the few months, counting backwards from the first time he found her onshore. But, putting into consideration on the majesty ring around her ring finger, she might be waiting for her lover. He was secretly hoping that his prediction was wrong, since it didn't please him to know that she was taken, not only him actually, for a beauty like her, any men will be disappointed to know that she already had a lover. And if she really has one, he must be the world luckiest, most capable but totally heartless and stupid man to have abandoned her out in the cold. Jing strongly believed that her lover, whoever he was, doesn't deserve her grief and wait.

"Usagi-san…" He politely approached the maiden. She turned slowly towards his call and glimpsed at him, her lovely face holding that usual emotionless expression. Jing froze for a second, taking in that she looked twice as stunning up-close but the loneliness lingering inside her mesmerizing eyes were as well-define as her beauty.

"Just… Just to inform you that we will be arriving at Kyoto soon. Maybe you would like to visit the city with us for your re-supply?"

Usagi was silent. She just gazed into his dim-blue orbs seemingly to be thinking about something else. Jing blushed lightly at her stare, wondering what so fascinating about his dark-blue eyes that always caught her attention, but, nevertheless he was happy that she was looking at him. Finally, she broke her gaze at him, turning away and nodded with a hardly visible grin.

Her smile looked empty to him, but, nonetheless, it still lit up her face. A warmer and brighter smile would definitely make her look ten times more striking, if looking any better was even possible for this beauty.

"Captain!" Jing spun around upon hearing one of his crewmate shout. "We are about to land! We need you here for a second, please!"

"Yes… Yes…" Jing displeasingly muttered aloud. At times like this, he wished he wasn't the boss of the ship so that he could spend more time alone with Usagi. "I'm sorry. I need to settle some matters first…" He told Usagi politely. "I will see you later."

As soon as Jing disappeared into the corner, Usagi gazed back to the outside blue.

"_Where are you?"_

She peered at the Millennium Star, it shimmered bright pink in an attempt to cheer her up, but the beautiful sparkles didn't seem to be of any help. She desolately lifted her hand, closing up the ring till it was gently touching her rosy lips.

"I'm sorry…" she murmured apologetically. "Without you, I can't smile… I'm sorry…"

--

* * *

--

"I'm amazed!" Hotaru exclaimed happily. "Kyoto is such a pretty city." She was delighted to see all the bustling people around her and the wide windows of shops displaying numerous items.

"Humm…" Jing gave an uncaring response to the pleasant surrounding. His eyes were as usual focused on the golden maiden walking along the side with him. Like him, Usagi's vision wasn't anywhere near exploring the town, her eyes were most of the time seen staring uninterestedly at the ground as they continued their sidewalk.

"Ouch!" Jing cried out in pain upon feeling Hotaru's hard pinch against his arm's flesh. The cousins glared displeasingly at each other.

"What's that for?" Jing exclaimed aloud.

"For ignoring me, obviously…" Hotaru folded her arms discontentedly.

Jing sighed in defeat, "Ok… ok… Where do you want to go next?"

Hotaru deliberately ignored him, changing her target to Usagi and with a bright smile asked. "Usagi-chan, do you have any places you would like to visit? Or anything you want to get?"

Usagi looked at her and shook her head with a light smile.

"Don't worry! It's on Jing's bill! He will be MORE than happy to get anything for you!" Hotaru added knowingly.

"Hotaru!" Jing shrieked, blushing a little.

"I was just telling the truth." Hotaru shrugged and smiled back at Usagi. "Just tell us when you see anything you need alright?"

With a faint grin, Usagi nodded. She spoke nothing as they proceeded into a nearby clothing store. Hotaru went straight to the ladies-wear section, and spent her next several minutes busy selecting dresses; taking them out and putting them back in the rack every so often. Jing grinned at her excited cousin, clearly pleased that she was now too occupied to pay any attention to him, granting him the freedom to finally be alone with Usagi.

"Hotaru will take forever... Why not look around as well?" Jing offered with a smile.

He saw nodding lightly as he followed her around the shop. To his surprise, Usagi took no interest in any of the brightly colored skirts or fancy frilly, spring dresses. Instead, she stopped at the gift section and eyed on a box filled with ribbons and other hair accessories.

For the first time, Jing saw Usagi's eyes widened with interest as one particular hair-tie caught her attention, a silk hair ribbon. It was crimson-red tined with a dimmer black on the edges. In Jing's opinion, it wasn't the kind of hair-ribbon he would image a lady to wear; the overall design and color combination definitely suited a man more.

But to his surprise, Usagi picked the hair-tie up and fingered it's soft, smooth texture. Her lips gradually curved up, smiling to herself as she examined the unique ribbon. Jing gasped softly upon seeing her genuine smile for the first time. She actually smiled! And as he had predicted, she looked ten times more striking when she smiled like that. It had him wanting to see more.

"You like it?" he beamed at her.

Usagi nodded keenly, her eyes still not leaving the ribbon enfolded in her hand as she walked over to the counter.

"How much?" She asked the lady cashier in a small tone.

"2000 yen, miss." The cashier replied with a courteous smile.

"I'll buy it for you…" Jing's offer was immediately rejected by Usagi. "No… I have money… I pay…"

"But…"

"I pay…!" She insisted, but firmer this time which immediately defeated Jing's intention to get something for her. She hastily pulled out the money needed from her skirt pocket and handed it over to the lady.

"Thank you, miss." The cashier showed her gratitude with a light bow.

Jing watched silently as Usagi glimpsed at the ribbon for the last time before stuffing it in her skirt pocket.

"You are not wearing it?" Jing asked surprisingly.

Judging from her keen interest previously, he expected her to immediately tie her gold locks up after purchasing the hair-ribbon. But, she shook her head instead, clearly showing no intention of using it on herself which had Jing wondering why she bought it for. But he wasn't given much time to think as he felt a hard pat on his back before a pile of clothes were shoved into his arms.

"Pay them…" Hotaru demanded acting like his lady boss.

Jing frowned in irritation. The lady he badly wanted to pay for didn't allow him to, while the one he didn't wish to waste his penny on demanded his money for her items and even ordered him to carry her loads as they proceeded out of the store. They are both girls, but why are there so many differences between them?

--

* * *

--

Somewhere in a smoky bar, a group of anonymous men getting themselves busy with poker and beers chatted among themselves. "We better get some more gun-powers…" one of the men smoking a short cigarette said.

"Haven't we bought enough gun-powers already…" the other responded. "Captain Jing didn't order us to get more, did he?"

"No. But just in case the rumor is true." The smoking man answered.

"What rumor?" the rest of the men lowered their cards and asked.

"What?! You guys didn't know?" He stared at his crewmates in disbelief. "It's such a big buzz nowadays!"

"If you are referring to a Dark angel destroying ships… than ya… we have heard about it…"

"Ya… Ya… This rumor is rather new, isn't it? Started only two months ago, after the terrible earthquake that claimed was the horrifying result of the Hell King reuniting with his Hell Sword…"

"Are you referring to the legendary Doom-will?"

"Yes… Yes… that… and because of this, some even believed that the destructive dark angel was actually the King of Hell…"

"What nonsense. What makes you think the King of Hell, if he even existed, will be that free to be going around wiping out ships huh? This rumor is so silly…"

"Well, how would I know? I am not him! But, some believed he was searching for someone or something…"

"Give me a break, will you? What's there to find in the sea besides Atlantis?"

The others laughed.

"I bet it's just a silly make-up story to scare pirates or sailors like us. Everyone claims there are sea monsters out there, but we encounter no such shits during our years of sea travelling! Sea monsters, dark angel, hell sword… whatever… they are all nothing but myths…"

"You will never know… We might encounter one tonight." One of the man joked.

"Ya, as if such coincidence will ever happen…" The rest of the men laughed hilariously as they continued with their game of poker.

--

* * *

--

After getting all the necessary re-supplies, the three strolled aimlessly around the city. Hotaru, as usual, was busy window-shopping even though she had already bought back a mountain of goods. Usagi was again quiet and uninterested to her surrounding. During their walk around the city, Jing noticed the countless number of peeks and mutters going about whenever Usagi passed by. He wasn't very happy with the attention drew on her though she seemed to be ignoring all the comments. It didn't seem to surprise him since it was only natural for such a beautiful girl to attract a lot of attention. Did she get these kinds of praises often? He bet she did. It was hard to imagine an exotic beauty like her would live through a day without receiving any. Compared to her, everyone around him was less than ordinary and because of this, he made an attempt to watch over her at all time, fearing she might carelessly get herself kidnapped, raped and, sold to the black market for heaven knows how much such priceless beauty even worth.

Hotaru inhaled a breath of fresh air hungrily upon reaching the central park. The green open space was fresh and peaceful. Family was enjoying their weekend together, children were running about happily and some friendly citizens were feeding the pigeons.

"Such a beautiful park!" Hotaru commented with a smile. "Let's find somewhere to rest for a minute or two, shall we?"

"Yes… Yes…" Jing responded sounding rather reluctant as he and Usagi followed her around the area for a bit.

"It's the Dark Lord…"

Usagi ears perked up with interest at the name mentioned. Much to her two companions' surprise, she stopped suddenly, turning towards the direction where she heard the name came from.

There sat, at the deserted corner, was a group of young children listening attentively to an indistinctive old lady as she told her tale.

"Children, have I told you the story known as the Love Legend yet?" the old lady asked with a kind smile.

"What's wrong, Usagi-chan?" Hotaru asked worriedly, but she got no response from the golden maiden.

Instead, Usagi instinctively walked over to the group of seated children, her face holding a very concern look. Jing and Hotaru exchanged confused stares before following her towards the corner.

"No no…" the children shook their heads. Usagi stopped behind the seated children and glanced down at the mysterious old lady who had her compassionate facial hidden under a brown scarf. She began her tale, in the most peaceful and kind voice Usagi had ever heard.

"A thousand years ago, there was this very beautiful angel in heaven that fell to the depth of hell, and because of this, his legendary sword Heaven-will lost its Light and became a dark sword called the Doom-will."

Some of the children were seen nodding while the others held a confused look, seemingly not understanding the story. Nevertheless, the old lady continued her tale…

"The fallen angel then became the King of Hell called the Dark Lord. And the missing light? It did not die but took the form of a young, enchanted maiden, and became the Maiden of the Light. Fate then brought the Dark Lord into his encounter with the Maiden, and they naturally fell in love. But they can never be together…" Usagi heart throbbed terribly at her last sentence as a boy rose up his hand and asked, "Why?"

"It's fate's claim. Once separated from Heaven-will, the Maiden no longer belongs to the Dark Lord, but to Heaven. Her soul being the Missing Light was to be passed down to the next Heaven King in order for him to officially rule Heaven. That is fate's rule of law ever since the beginning of creation. But the Dark Lord went against fate's order, battling to keep his love by his side. He didn't fail, but was separated from the Maiden for a thousand years."

"What happened next, what happened next?" the children asked anxiously.

"Because of a certain promise, they were reunited a thousand years later and fell in love all over again. They struggled though many inescapable obstacles with the meant of wanting to be together for eternity, once again violating fate's law and defying her inevitability… resulting to another separation…"

"How sad… Don't you think so too, Usagi-chan?" Hotaru asked, gazing at Usagi but got no reply from her.

Usagi just continue staring at the unknown old lady with the most agonizing look across her face. It had Jing and Hotaru looking at each other, not understanding why Usagi was so affected by the folktale.

"Everyday…" The old lady continued. "The Dark Lord travels far and wide in search for the maiden, only to be strike deeply by disappointment each day without any clue to where she is… While the maiden waits lonelily for his appearance, staring out into the sea, in hope to see him again…" The old lady unexpectedly paused as an awkward silence filled the air.

"What… What happened next?"

Everyone turned their attention to the Usagi as she anxiously broke the silence. "Wh-what will happen to them? Tell me…What happened next?!"

"Usagi…" Both Jing and Hotaru were equally shocked by Usagi's extreme concern over a fable story.

"Tell me... What will happen to them? Please… I want to know… Tell me!" Usagi cried out in desperation much to everyone surprise.

Silence took over the surrounding once more. It was a pretty tense moment for Usagi as she stared at the old storyteller who had her face down, hidden behind the shadow and it didn't seems like she was going to answer her question anytime soon. Then, in the very next second, she lifted her head and smiled compassionately at the concerned maiden.

"What do you think, child?"

Usagi was caught speechless at her unexpected question. To everyone surprise, the old and hunchbacked storyteller stood up, and with the aid of her walking stick, she slowly approached the golden maiden and stopped right in front of her. "Child… How do you think the story will end?"

Everyone waited for Usagi's response but she spoke nothing for several seconds, shaking her head continuously as she tried badly to convince herself to believe that the story will end beautifully, but she was losing the war as nothing in her said anything about a happily ever after together.

"No…" She finally spoke in a soft tone initially but raised her voice after a second's pause. "No! Don't let them meet again! Don't let them get back together!" She cried firmly. "Because… Because they will be separated in the end! They will be separated in the end! So... So why let them meet again when they will be parted eventually?! Again… Again… and again! How many times more must they suffer?! Don't… Please… Don't let them suffer anymore…"

Jing eyes shot up in absolute shock when he saw tears in Usagi's eyes. He hadn't seen her this emotional before, she hardly shown any expression to anyone and yet cried heartbreakingly over a myth? Why?

"How many more times must you torture them fate?" Usagi losing her strength to her devastating emotion fell helplessly to the ground. "I hate fate! I hate fate! Why did you even let them meet in the first place when you don't allow them to be together?! Why?! Why?!" She sobbed, covering her damped face with both hands. "Why are you so cruel? Why…"

"He said the same thing…"

The unexpected response had Usagi questionably looking up, into the old lady's thin-lined eyes. Usagi couldn't see her orbs, but the very warm-hearted smile drawn across the lady wrinkled face lighted her grief by a little.

The elderly bent slightly down towards the seated maiden and asked. "What is your desire, child? Do you wish to see him?"

"See him?" Usagi repeated, stunned by the question for a second. "No… No…!" She shook her head frantically. "I don't want to see him! I don't want to risk seeing him once more only to be separated… again… and again… It hurts, it hurts so much… No! No more, please! I don't want to see him! I don't want to see him again!"

"Then…" The old lady replied without hesitation, her tone was calm and smooth. "Why do you still look out into the sea everyday with such lonely yet hopeful eyes? Child, who are you waiting for?"

Usagi's jaw dropped, her eyes went larger than before, and only one emotion could be read across her face and it was shock. "I… I…"

"Who are you waiting for?" The elderly repeated, still holding onto her warm smile.

Usagi bit her lips and looked down, trying her best to deceive herself from the truth again, because the truth hurts. She could feel the sourness and pinching pain attacking her fragile heart and taking over her feeble body once more. Yes, a single thought of him could actually bring so much pains and tears to her, yet she couldn't push away the fact that it was all because she wanted to see him badly, so badly that it was deeply tearing her apart. That was her unavoidable punishment for going against fate's will. She couldn't escape it, no matter how hard she tried to forget, he was constantly in her mind and heart, firmly sealed.

"I… I…" Usagi choked back her tears.

"I… I miss him!" She finally confessed in between her cries. "I miss him so much! I miss him so much!"

Nothing matters anymore, not her surrounding, not the shocking expression on everyone's face, not Fate retribution. Just as long as they were given a chance to see each other once more, nothing else mattered. "Where are you? Seiya… Can't you see, can't you see? I'm right here, waiting… waiting for you… Why aren't you here yet? Why…? Seiya… Where are you… now?"

Sorrow, stress, pressure, concern… They had one thing in common. In a way, they could all force secrecy out of someone. Whether how hard Usagi had been trying to bury her deepest realization, they slipped out in these sorts of situations. With all those continuous tears streaming down her face, she wasn't sure whether she was feeing any ease after the confession. All she knew was that love wasn't fair. Why did her heart have to go and give itself to him without her consent? Why did she have to love this man who she couldn't be with?

"True love hmm…?"

Usagi finally looked up, realizing that the unknown elderly had slipped her tiny hand into hers as she peered smilingly at the Millennium Star. Under the watchful eyes of the old lady, it was seen glittering exceptionally as though it was trying to communicate with her. Usagi's cries softened as she gazed at the elderly who was now smiling warmly at her.

"Child, you and him, the both of you have such a beautiful promise."

Usagi continued to stare wordlessly at the kind-hearted face before her. There was something about this old lady that had her feeling peace all of the sudden. Her warm smile unexplainably drove away all her worries and aching problems, calming her mind and soul.

"Who… Who are you?" Usagi asked in a small tone, her eyes not leaving the compassionate granny.

Usagi saw the elderly lips curved into a more subtle smile before she answered mysteriously, "I am someone you hate, child."

She smiled at Usagi for a second longer before she turned and faced the children.

"No more? No more stories?" The children surrounding the old lady asked keenly, some grasped onto her brown kimono as she slowly led them out of the park.

"The story will continue tonight…"

"Eh?! Why… granny…" The children frowned together. "Didn't you give this story an ending already?"

"I did, children. I did…" The elderly replied while patting a boy lightly on his head. "But, let's see whether the story will end differently, shall we?"

"Differently? But, Granny! All your stories always end the way you wanted them to… There's no way there will be a different ending!" The other children giggled and nodded.

"We will see… We will see…" The granny smiled as they walked further away from Usagi's vision. The golden maiden got up hurriedly, ignoring Jing's and Hotaru calls and stumbled towards the leaving group.

"Wait! Wait…" she cried out to the elderly.

To her surprise, the whole group paused their steps and turned around. And as soon as they did, the atmosphere bizarrely turned misty, blurring Usagi's vision but she was able to glimpse the sight of the elderly warm smile.

"I will be watching, child…" Her voice was heard fading as the group slowly disappeared against the mist. "Will it be the fated ending?"

"Or can you create a whole new beginning…?"

--

* * *

--

"Seiya…" Usagi whispered staring out into the night sea.

"That's his name?"

Usagi jumped up in surprise. Looking behind herself for the first time, she found out that she wasn't alone in the side-deck; Jing and Hotaru were standing behind her.

"That's his name?" Hotaru repeated her question with a smile as she took a big step next to Usagi. "The one you are waiting for…"

Usagi's cheeks were seen coated with a light pink as she nodded with a faint smile. It was a peculiar thing. After her encounter with the mysterious storyteller, Usagi's heart and mind was feeling much more at ease compared to a few months ago. Maybe it was because she had poured out all her buried emotion that was deeply torturing her without her awareness. She had been deceiving herself for all these while, her mind trying to block off all thoughts of him while her body did the opposite. There was no point in denying it anymore; her mind yearned to see him, her heart ached to be beside him, but most of all, her body longed to be held by him.

"_A whole new beginning?"_

Usagi didn't know what to think about that possibility, whether to laugh or cry at the odds of winning fate. She knew very well that if it wasn't for Seiya's persistency, their story would have ended a thousand years ago. But how much more can they change? How many more chapters can their story go?

Or maybe fate was testing them…

"So, how is he like?" Hotaru budged in, interrupting Usagi's thought. Usagi blinked a couple of times at Hotaru who had just flashed a smile at her, "I bet he's nothing like Jing!"

"Hey! What do you mean by that?!" Jing shrieked at the giggling Hotaru. "What do you see me as huh?!"

"Lazy, irresponsible, pervert…" Hotaru replied with a nod. Jing clenched his fist as the cousins started another row of their usual quarrels making Usagi chuckled at their intimacy. They stopped upon hearing her light giggling and reactively turned toward her direction.

"I'm sorry…" Usagi apologized. "I didn't mean to laugh. It's just that seeing the two of you like this, it reminded me of a familiar scene…"

She explained upon recalling Seiya and Yaten frequent quarrels over every, single little things and her other companions' interaction. It had her wondering about their well-being. How's everybody doing right now? Have they returned to Hell already? What about Seiya and the injuries he had taken from shielding her? She bit her lips, trying her best to suppress the attacking worries from taking over her conscious again.

"You haven't answered my question." Hotaru once again interrupted her thoughts. "How is he like?"

Jing and Hotaru both waited quietly for her response as Usagi turned away from them and faced the night sea. She smiled a sweet and gentle smile. "He's like my guardian angel…"

The cousins couldn't find any comments or questions for the reply since her effortless description answered everything. It was like simply telling them that he was always saving, protecting, helping her, and when he wasn't doing any of those, he was worried about her, just like a true guardian angel.

Jing watched as Usagi continued gazing longingly at the night sky. He didn't know how to feel now, or maybe he shouldn't be feeling anything at all since it was made real clear that the maiden had her feelings engaged to someone else. Sadly, he wasn't given much time to sort out his complex emotion when his crew of men came shouting and stumbling anxiously towards him, "Captain Jing! Pirates! Pirates!"

"What?!" Both Jing and Hotaru exclaimed together. "Where?!"

"Four o'clock!" One of the crew responded in a panic. "All three of them heading our way!"

"Three?!" Jing growled under his breathe in displease. This was definitely no time to be encountering any pirates, not to mention three at a shot. "Prepare the canons! And gunfire! Raise the sail!" He ordered loudly as his men ran in all directions, passing and following his orders hurriedly.

"Hotaru, take Usagi-san to the bottom deck! Don't come out from there till I said so!" Jing gave his final command as he disappeared into the corner.

"Follow me, Usagi-chan." Hotaru grabbed the confuse Usagi by her wrist pulling her along, and before she realized it, they were already in the ship basement.

"Stay here and don't come out." Hotaru directed and closed the door quickly not giving Usagi any opportunity to oppose.

Usagi glanced around her dim surrounding, disliking the darkness and the humid air. She clenched her fists together trying to remain cool but finding it harder to do so then it seemed. The thing about dimness is that it tends to lead one to lose track of the time, and Usagi had naturally became a victim. When the first canon shot was fired, it had Usagi jumping in panic as she covered her ears with both hands and her body crouched at the corner not knowing what to do. Seiya was always by her side at a crucial time like this and he was the only reason why she felt safe no matter when and where. But, he was no where near her now. Usagi shivered at the fear of isolation. It was her first time being left alone in a dark, enclose place and she didn't know what to make of the situation.

"Help me… Seiya…" Usagi repeatedly whispered his name, as if it was a prayer of some sort. She missed him bad enough to be repeating his name every so often but she needed him more than anything now. She wanted so desperately to hold onto him and feel his warmth because she got nothing left in her except for the flashing images of him.

Then, Usagi heard the door crash opened violently followed by heavy footsteps coming towards her direction. Her eyes shot up in fear at the lustful eyes staring down at her and immediately felt powerful hands gripping her by the arms, forcefully dragging her out of the storage room.

"Let go! Let go!" She shrieked and tried struggling but it was pointless. The two pirates had physical strength at least a hundred times stronger than hers, and as they hauled her along, she couldn't even feel her feet touching the ground at all, let alone try escaping their hold. Can't anyone save her from getting seized by these two pirates?

Usagi squeezed her eyes hard. "Seiya!"

Suddenly, the pirate on her right broke his grip followed by the left as she stayed suspended in the air for a second longer before a hand hastily reached forth and grabbed hers right before she hit the ground.

"Are you alright?"

Usagi spun around only to find Jing staring concernedly down at her. She blinked, realizing that he had knocked the two pirates out conscious.

Usagi nodded in response and felt Jing's firm grasp against her sweaty hand. "Follow me." He instructed and pulled her along with him while protecting her through a few opposing pirates along the way to the top deck.

Once at the open, they were immediately surrounded within a circle of enemies. Usagi gasped with her hands covering her mouth upon noticing that the many recognizable crewmates were badly injured; some were tied together or against a pole while the others lied motionlessly on their front. The rest of the pirates were slowly closing in on them as Jing continued defending Usagi against the opposition. With his swift dodge and quick slash of his blade, Jing was no doubt a good fighter. But there was a limitation to his capability due to the need to protect Usagi and being greatly outnumbered.

"Drop your sword if you don't want her to die!" Jing spun around only to witness a group of pirates holding onto Hotaru with a sharp knife pointed at her throat.

"Hotaru!" Jing's desire to move forth was blocked back by another group of anonymous pirates.

"Didn't you hear me?! I said drop your sword or she dies!" the old cranky looking man who was sitting on a wooden stool with a pipe in his hand commanded. Judging from his appearance, he was most probably the captain of the surrounding pirates.

"No!! Jing! Don't do it!" Hotaru screamed.

"Shut up, little bitch!!" The pirate directing his knife closer to her throat shouted while the rest of his companions was heard giggling slyly under their breaths.

Jing eyes shot wide opened dreadfully as he noticed a slight trail of blood dripping off from the side of Hotaru's neck. "Don't!"

"Then drop your sword!" They demanded. Jing bit his lips hard, showing great reluctance but obediently released his weapon. And as soon as he did, the closing pirates seized him by the arms and dealt several strong blows to his stomach before pinning him to the wooden ground.

"Jing!" Hotaru struggled. "Let him go, you bastards!"

Jing caught a glimpse from the bottom as one of the pirates pushed Usagi till she was less than a foot away from the pirate boss seated on the stool.

"Don't worry. We will set the two of you free. Since our main objective is her…" The old captain smirked at Hotaru before resting his hungry eyes at the frightened beauty standing before him. "It was a good thing that we spotted you at Kyoto…" the pirate captain stood up, and took a step forward while Usagi took a few step back. "Because no one will ever believe that a small, useless ship like this would contain such a fine jewel…"

"Don't touch her, you bastard!" Jing's yell fell into deaf ears as the pirate captain continue walking over to Usagi. She backed away from him, but tripped over an abandoned rope and fell on her bottom. None of the men made a move to help her to her feet. Instead, they seemed to be eyeing at the edge of her underwear that was peeking out from her raised skirt. Usagi noticed where all the eyes were glued and immediately fixed her skirt much to the discontentment of all the pirates present.

"You dirty pirates!" Jing growled as he clenched his fist tightly wanting to beat them up and save Usagi but he was in no position to do either and even if he was able to free himself, he would risk putting Hotaru into danger. In the end, he couldn't bring himself to do anything else besides watching helplessly as the pirates slowly close in to the terrified maiden.

Usagi found herself drowning in terror at the sight of the surrounding men undoing their belt buckles. She wanted to flee, but there was no where to run. None of the pirates seemed to be bothered by her fright, instead they almost appear pleased. Usagi just sat there, completely still and helpless. No voice could be heard coming out of her mouth even though her jaw hung open in fear.

Help.

That's what she needed now. But how? She desperately wanted someone to come out and save her but it seemed completely impossible. Was this part of fate's punishment for going against her will? As if separating them wasn't devastating enough, she even needs to pay with her innocence? No! She didn't want any other men touching her or to betray Seiya. But, who can save her? The answer was very clear, no one.

Usagi glimpsed hopefully at the night sky but saw nothing, no sight of any stars or the moon or him. She had already lost count the number of times she cried his name in her head, but still, he didn't came; her guardian angel wasn't going to appear this time round.

Without warning, a man pinned her onto the ground violently followed by a fierce ripping of her bottom outfit.

"Iiyaaa!! Seiya!!" Usagi screamed and kicked but the man simply moved closer to her until his knees were pressing against her thighs, too close for her comfort. Then she felt another pair of hands recklessly trying to undo her top and a rough hand touching her delicate, smooth skin; moving rashly up from her leg to her thigh. Her eyes shot up in terror when she felt someone gripping onto the side of her underwear with the desperate attempt to pull it down.

Her escaping tears blurred her vision, hazing all the lustful eyes staring down at her. Usagi choked back her tears. This couldn't be happening to her. She had lost her will to struggle, her throat felt too dry and raspy to even scream yet her mind was fully-conscious about the nasty thing that was going on around her, about the one and only name that was rapidly banging in her head.

It was then when the Millennium Star suddenly gave off a blinding pink glow, "SEIYA!!"

Usagi didn't know how she even managed to scream out or why the ship suddenly began to shake recklessly. All the pirates pulled away from her as they lost their balance from the raising earthquake. Sea water uncontrollably poured into the ship as an immense size creature rose from the deep dark blue. It stood dominatingly at least two towers tall, growling thunderously down at the tiny ship before it. The rest of the standing pirates fell over from shock and terror at the appearance of a legendary creature; the Emperor of the deep blue, the Sea Dragon.

The wind caught up, moving the dark clouds to reveal the full moon. With the moonlit, everyone caught a full glimpse of the mythical dragon staring fiercely down at them. The long serpent like creature possessed the scalps of radiance blue carp, huge horns of a deer, feathery silver mane, and large eyes of glowing gold. It exhaled another loud smoky breath before a winged figure enigmatically flew down and landed on its head. The sea dragon didn't budge, allowing the dark angel to stay on its top as he took a step forward. Against the brightly lighted moon, his long enchanted black hair was seen drifting loosely along with the wind, a recognizable white ribbon was tied around his left wrist and his reflective midnight blue eyes gazed affectionately down at the golden beauty.

Her eyes widened, her heart raised, her jaw dropped at the appearance of the extraordinary beautiful angel.

"No, this can't be true…" Usagi gasped in absolute disbelief covering her mouth with both hands as the dark angel locked his night-sky orbs at hers.

"At last, I've found you… My Light…"

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The character Jing belongs to me.

At first, I wanted to be cruel, but decided not to and extended the chapter ending so all my lovely readers won't have to suffer too much of a cliff-hanger. Hopefully I have the time to finish it :).

Love this chapter? No? Yes? And you know what I want most? That's your **REVIEW**!!


	29. A Lovely Dream Comes True

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**A Lovely Dream Comes True**

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The enormous Sea Dragon let out a thunderous growl when the dark angel spread both his wings wide open. Everyone watched in both astonishment and immobility as he gracefully flew down and landed onto the ship deck. His midnight eyes were seen glowing intensely against the darkness.

Whether it was because of the overwhelming fear or the threatening presence of the Dark Lord, all was unable to move, scream and could hardly breathe.

Stiff silence filled the air.

Usagi could feel her heart thumb rapidly as the Dark Lord took a step towards her. _"Seiya…"_

Fear was injected into her soul when she saw his dark blue eyes enlarged with anger as he peered deeply at her.

She glimpsed at herself finally realizing how dreadful she actually looked right now. Her hair was tangled and rough looking, her skirt was ripped till there was barely any cloth left to cover her legs and her top was so badly torn that she was literally wearing nothing else besides a shredded bra. Barely clothed, dirty and soaked she must look awfully terrible to him at the moment.

"No… Don't look! Please… Don't look at me!" She cried bringing her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them, and hiding her face on top.

For the first time, she didn't want to see him. He had caught her at her worse moment. She tried her hardest to disappear, but it turned out she had no teleporting skill. Usagi knew she was still there by the sound of Seiya's approaching footstep. She didn't dare to look up not wanting to meet his hateful glare, desperately begging for a hole to appear underneath her so she could drop in and disappear. But sadly, the ground didn't crack open and swallow her.

"Don't look! I'm dirty… I'm ugly… Please…Don't look at me…" She cried repeatedly.

She didn't want Seiya to see her like this; ugly and insightful. From the looks of it, she was sure he was definitely feeling unhappy about her. He must hate her now that he knew she had been physically harassed. The terrible feeling of being touched by the many pair of rough hands still lingered throughout her entire bare body, consciously torturing her. She felt dirty and deeply ashamed. How could she betray Seiya like that? She didn't deserve him. She knew it already. He was beyond perfect, and she wasn't. Usagi didn't need anything more like this to increase that gap between them. He was going to yell at her, leave her and it wasn't going to take him very long to find someone better.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" Usagi sniffed apologetically, unable to hold onto her tears any longer. "Please don't hate me, please don't hate me…"

She shivered and held her breath, awaiting the voice that would soon tear her heart into a million microscopic pieces.

But instead, she felt him gently wrapping a cover around her followed by his soft whispering.

"I love you, my Light."

Usagi froze in absolute disbelief by his words. Did she hear him right? He loved her despite her current insightful state? He wasn't even angry at her? This just made her cry harder.

"Seiya… I'm sorry… I'm sorry." She apologized once more as she burrowed her face in his chest and squeezed him with all the strength she had left.

Seiya simply wrapped his black leather robe tighter around the shivering maiden, treating her like a newborn, and planted a soothing kiss on her forehead hoping to calm her down.

Usagi hesitantly lifted her head up, eyeing at him uneasily. Though her vision was blurred due to her tears, she could only see fret splattered across his charming face. Seiya noticed her tear stained face with pained expression. Any fury he had previously felt towards the pirates perished as his eyes examine the frightened maiden before him.

"I'm sorry, Seiya. I'm sorry…"

She was still apologizing to him which made Seiya winced, as if the pain she was feeling was affecting him as well. Why was she apologizing? This wasn't her fault, there was no reason for her to take the blame, but she was. Her apologies brought pain and guilt into him.

"Stop…" He whispered softly to her. "There's nothing to be sorry for, Light. It's not your fault…"

His arms slid under hers, and he drew her into his arms before she could even protest. He held her tightly in his chest, hating the terrified expression she wore.

"Don't cry. I promise I won't let anyone touch you from now… I'm sorry…" He breathed into her ear.

"Seiya…" Usagi choked in tear, burying her face into his chest as he effortlessly carried her up.

How could there be so much perfection in one person? He had saved her, protected her, comforted her and yet apologized? It wasn't even his fault to begin with. Everything started because of her, from the war between Heaven and Hell to his injuries and danger ahead. Yet, why? Why must he still take the blame? Why did he come for her? Why could he still love her despite all this? She knew very clearly that she shouldn't be seeing him and they shouldn't be together but she couldn't help but clung onto him as tightly as she could fearing he might disappear if she was to let go. For all she knew, to be held like this in his arms might be another dream of hers or she was just imagining an illusionary figure of him. Though Usagi was surrounded by the familiar sense of his presence, deep down, she didn't believe he was real. She had suffered through long, painful months of loneliness and hopelessness to the extent that she could only dream of seeing him visually; a dream that might never come true. But, here he was now, holding dearly onto her. How could such blissfulness even be real?

Seiya could still feel Usagi shivering uneasily despite his continuous words of comfort. He cautiously lifted her higher and pressed his lips gently on her left cheek, hoping to lighten her grief by a little. Usagi flinched at his kiss still unable to distinguish the whole situation as a reality. Seiya immediately withdrew himself, believing that he was scaring her though she had poked her head out of the wrapped robe more because of shock rather than fear.

"Did I scare you?" He asked concernedly.

Still overwhelmed by disbelief, Usagi could only stare back at Seiya wordlessly.

"I'm sorry. Please don't be scared of me. I've finally found you and I am never letting you leaves me… Never letting you go… no matter what…" He breathed affectionately into her ear. "I promise I won't allow anyone to hurt or even touch you from now. Trust me. Everything is going to be alright. So, please stay with me."

Usagi gazed up at him as she shed one last tear before she dropped her face, letting the side of her head lie against his chest. Something about his words and the way he said them calmed her soul, removing the many unpleasant feelings that was torturing her previously. It was as if he had cast some magic into them or something. Though she still couldn't believe he was real, she felt peace and warmth for the first time after the many months of separation. She shut her eyes, listening to the faint sound of the wind and his steady heartbeat.

After a few seconds of peaceful silence, Usagi felt a sudden raise in Seiya's temperature and heartbeat. Somehow, she could sense his fury and his evolving power. He was angry, very angry.

"You low, worthless mortals! How DARE you lay your filthy hands on MY Light?!" The Dark Lord glared aggressively at all the immobile pirates.

None of them was able to move and was growing weaker and weaker as the seconds past due to the Dark Lord pressurizing presence. No normal mortals dead or alive could withstand the Hell King's aggressive aura of death; his presence alone could eliminate any amount of human armies.

"All of you shall feel the WRATH OF HELL!!" The enraged Dark Lord unleashed another crashing blast of invisible energy, sending some pirates flying into the walls while those that ended into the sea instantly became the feed to the Sea Dragon.

The ship was rocking frantically as Jing stumbled across to the unconscious Hotaru, shielding her from any blowing blast. He sensed supreme domination from the powerful dark angel; a beyond god-like being. Who was this dangerous man? Jing watched in horror how the angry dark angel torment the many petrified pirates who tried raping Usagi earlier.

"Do you know what happens to all those that dare to force themselves onto MY Light?!" The Dark Lord demanded coldly.

"You will DIE for the ANSWER!!"

With the golden maiden still securely in his arm, the Dark Lord sadistically pierced his dark blade into the pirates' manhood resulting in endless screams of extreme pain and agony. The Hell King merciless vengeance was indeed a brutal act to witness; pirate bodies were cruelly dissected alive as he heartlessly pierced the Dark Terror into one of the removed hand and flung it out to the open sea, feeding his new pet.

Soon, the disgusting smell of thick blood brought Usagi to open her eyes and look up into the eyes of pure coldness. Seiya had the most unfeeling expression Usagi had ever seen him wear and she could still feel the fury seeping off him. Her mouth opened to call his name, but her vocal cords refused to function properly. She had never seen him looking so emotionless before and was scared stiff. Has she finally come face to face with the true Dark Lord? No doubt, he was presently the cold-blooded Hell King who showed no mercy to any existence whether they were the living or the dead. No! She didn't want him looking like this! He seemed so cold, so heartless, nothing near to how he would usually appear as before her. Where was his smile? That charming smile in which she favoured most? Where was it?

"Iiyaa(No)… Seiya…" Usagi cried softly. "Don't, don't look like this… "

Upon hearing her soft plead, his eyes finally lost the sharpness as they lowered down to hers. Instantly, he felt a sharp stab to his heart when he saw the terrified expression. What hurt was that the fear in her eyes was clearly because of him and not because of the pirates any more. But before he could say anything, her hands found their way out of the tightly wrapped robe and the next thing he knew, she was already clinching onto him tightly with her arms around his neck.

"Please Seiya… Please don't look so cold. Please smile, please smile…" she cried out with all her available strength.

Smile? Secretly, he had forgotten how to smile. At least that was what he thought during their period of separation since there was practically nothing to smile about. Ever since Heaven declared war with Hell, killing and battling were all he did. There was no love or any form of happiness in a battle even if he won, so was a smile necessary? Besides, he could hardly feel any emotions without her by his side, like a body without a soul. She was essential to him, too essential and he felt empty without her. Deeply, he wasn't as strong as what everyone claimed. He couldn't take the torment of separation and abandoned his position and Hell after retrieving Doom-will leaving his comrades to handle most of the war affairs.

Everyday, he searched far and wide for her and disappointment had become a daily pain, so much so, till he was numbed from it. Yes! To not have her by his side was definitely way beyond just torturing. At times, he felt weak, so weak that he would secretly shed a tear. Though the proud Dark Lord never cries despite any circumstances, he was feeling helpless just by thinking about her. He feared everyday the many possibilities of the maiden getting into danger, seized and killed by the heavenly gods. He was sure he would go insane, burning everything into ashes if that was to happen. She was his LIFE! His everything! Ever since creation, she was there by his side as his light and even after his fall, she came searching for him instead of returning to heaven. If one was to ask him to define happiness, she was definitely the answer. Love? She poured him, unconditionally. Whether it was a thousand years ago or even now, he still couldn't defeat the need of seeing her, hearing her voice and feeling the touch of her hand within his. He couldn't picture his entire existence without her.

If she was to get killed and revolve back into Heaven's Light, it will be the end for them…

Fate would hold the victory.

No! He wasn't going to allow that! He vowed that he will protect her with his all… because only with her… only with her could he smile, truly.

"Don't cry. I'm sorry for scaring you." Seiya breathed before withdrawing the Dark Terror.

Honestly, he wasn't even half-through tormenting the lowly pirates for trying to rape her. Punishing them with Dark Terror wasn't enough to lighten his fury but if he was to summon the Doom-will, he wasn't quite sure whether Usagi could take the pressure. The last thing he would want to do now was to scare his pure white angel again. She didn't deserve anymore fright and Seiya would do anything to prevent her from getting any closer to her fears. "It's alright now. So, please don't cry..."

Usagi's sniffs softened at his soothing words as she lifted her lids, meeting his charming smile. Her tears were instantly replaced by a thick blush coating across her cheeks. How long had she last flush at something this beautiful? She couldn't remember but she wanted to see more of his smile, even if this was only a dream. She wished she would never wake up from it.

"Don't move." Usagi demanded, catching his face between her hands as she peered deeply at him.

"Erm… Light…" Seiya voiced out, feeling a little awkward.

He wasn't used to Usagi staring at him like that since she was usually the one who did most of the 'shying away' first.

"Can I stop smiling now? My lips feel tired…"

"No! No! No!" Usagi childishly insisted. "Don't move. Continue smiling."

In reality, the maiden was actually in a half-conscious state. She didn't have much strength left in her to generate anymore thoughts and her brain was hardly functioning logically. All she knew now was her desire to see his smile and nothing else.

From a distance, Jing was seen frowning at the awkward scene not getting the situation at all. Among the many bloody pirates, gory body parts and disfigured corpses stood an enchanted dark angel carrying a beautiful golden maiden who boldly trapped his face between her delicate hands. Then, he watched as the maiden gradually moved closer to the dark angel, kissing him by surprise. There, they stayed at that loving gesture for a few more second before the maiden carefully withdrew herself and continue peering at angel, demanding him to keep smiling.

"I love your smile, Seiya." Usagi admitted and smiled adoringly at him, making him blush a little. "It's so warm and beautiful. Just like the sun…"

She leaned closer and settled her chin on his firm shoulder, gradually losing her strength to keep her lids opened.

"Please continue smiling…" She breathed closing her eyes. "I am very happy… Even if this is only a dream…"

"Dream?" Seiya creased his forehead slightly.

Did she really think he wasn't real? Was she kidding him? After he spent countless attempts and sleepless nights looking for her, even to the extent of fighting Poseidon to get his Sea Dragon so that it could help him with the search, she actually thought she was dreaming about being together again?

Seiya sighed, "This isn't a dream, Light…"

But Usagi couldn't hear him for she was already in a deep sleep.

"Seiya…" He heard her muttered his name in her sleep and smiled. Now, she was really dreaming a dream with him.

"Silly girl…" Seiya chuckled happily for the first time. He wrapped her up thoughtfully to prevent her from getting a cold before carrying her closer to his face and giving her a loving peck on her cheek. "Sweet dreams, my Light."

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The sound of passing seagulls and soothing water waves awoke Usagi early in the morning. She lifted her heavy eyelids. Sleepiness still overwhelmed her as she stayed motionless for a few more seconds not bothering to check the surrounding or the situation she was in. As the sun rised, its first light streamed through the large window in front of her eyes instantly waking her. She blinked finally realizing that she was entrapped inside a piece of long black robe and someone was hugging her into his chest tightly. What was happening here? Where was she and who was this sleeping man holding onto her?

Usagi couldn't recall anything that had happened last night. She only remembered seeing Seiya in her dream rescuing her from a bunch of perverted pirates who tried to rape her. But, she couldn't recall what really happened. Normally, she didn't bother to care much about reality because she doesn't get to be with Seiya anyway, but it was different this time round, she needed to know what was going on here. Inside the thick robe, she knew she was barely wearing anything except for a tattered bra and panties. Wild and crazy thoughts suddenly evolved into her mind. Did this man whoever he was kidnapped and raped her last night? No! This couldn't be true right? How was she going to face Seiya if it was true?

Usagi couldn't think straight and was on the verge of crying. All she wanted to do now is escape from this _rapist. _But no matter how hard she struggled, his embrace didn't loosen; as if the man was afraid to lose her, hugging her with all his might. The unknown man didn't budge or show any sign of wakening despite her endless struggles. He must be feeling really tired to not feel her resistance.

She would have pushed herself out of his hold if her hands weren't trapped inside the robe and him. Feeling powerless, Usagi stopped struggling for a second listening to his soft breathing and feeling the rise and fall of his chest against her cheek. Why? The longer she stayed intact in his arms, the more warmth and comfort she felt from him. What's with this familiar feeling? Strangely, she wanted to stay like this forever. No! What was she thinking? She was sleeping with another man! How could she betray Seiya like that? She didn't deserve him now. She knew that already. Wait! Didn't she think something similar to this last night too? Her mind was in such a confuse state right now that she didn't notice the half-awoke man planting a sweet morning kiss gently on her forehead.

Usagi froze at his touch and quickly pushed herself away from him as soon as she felt him loosening his embrace by a little.

"Iiyaaa!! Hentai (Pervert)!!" She staggered, realizing that she was falling from the edge of the bed. The black robe that was initially hanging on her shoulders landed quietly onto the cold floor first. A hand hastily reached for her and grabbed her arm right before she hit the ground.

"Who are you calling a pervert, little Usagi?"

Usagi heard a recognizable voice asked before she was pulled up into his arms in a one-side embrace.

Her head hastily jerked up at the all too familiar voice, "Seiya…"

Usagi hands flew to her mouth in total shock and disbelief. She couldn't believe her eyes. The charming young man seated before her was her desire, her wish, and her dream she believed that would never come true. Lies! She must be still dreaming because fate was never this good to allow her to be with him again. Yes! She must be dreaming!

"Light?" Seiya frowned lightly at her startled face. Shouldn't she be happy to see him? Yet, the only emotion he could read on her face was shock. He saw no trace of joy in the maiden's eyes. Did she think he had taken advantage of her during her sleep? That was why she was calling him a pervert and was upset to see him. No way! Surely she should know him well enough to understand that he respected her wholeheartedly and would never even dream of doing such nasty stuffs without her consent. He got to explain to her before she started running away from him and treating him like a rapist for the rest of their lives.

"Listen to me, Light… I… E... Dai…(It's hurt)!!" Seiya shrieked at Usagi who suddenly gripped the top of his hairs and started pulling them as hard as she could.

"What do you think you are doing, Light?!" Seiya exclaimed stiffly not getting her action.

"I am checking to see whether you are real or not." Usagi answered innocently as she continued pulling his top hair much to his irritation.

"Stop… Stop it." Seiya demanded, wrapping his fingers around her wrist. "Of course I am real. What makes you think I'm not?"

His forehead creased lightly showing a little displease. First, she accused him of being a rapist and now she thought he wasn't real? This was definitely an unexpected scenario for a beautiful reunion.

Usagi gradually withdrew her hand and stared oddly at him for a second longer before replying, "You can't be real, because you will only appear in my dream… And whenever I opened my eyes, you were never there. I know that… Because in reality, we can never be together… So, you must be an illusion right? I am still dreaming right?"

Seiya grabbed her wrist and pulled her back into him, crushing her to his body in another constricting embrace.

"You are not dreaming. I am real. Feel me… I am real…" He instructed, directing her hand onto his chest and asking her to touch him.

Usagi just stare bashfully at his perfectly built torso for a second longer before running her fingers gently down his chest. She blushed shyly, feeling his warmness and his steady heartbeat increasing their momentum at her touch. He felt real, his presence gave off the familiar promising comfort and security. But Usagi still couldn't distinguish between realities and dreams even how relatively close they were currently.

"Is it you? Is it really you, Seiya?" she asked in a small voice, gazing up at him in hope to hear a 'yes'.

For a moment, Seiya just stare silently at her. It hurts him somehow, to know that she had been enduring such loneliness; fully understanding how that tormenting feeling actually taste like. He mentally punched himself for his incapability to find her sooner causing her to lose trust in happiness. So, he was not the only one. She was suffering as much or even more than he did to the extent of not even recognizing blissfulness.

"I'm sorry, Light. I'm sorry…" Seiya apologetically took her hand into his and held it firmly against his cheek for a second before kissing it dearly. "I'm sorry to have you going through all these…"

Even though Usagi thought of him as an illusion, the remorseful expression imprinted on his face and the pain in his voice was enough to bring a hurting ache into her heart. Whether he was real or not, she didn't want to see him looking this sad…

"Please trust me. I am real… You are not dreaming…" He gazed lovingly at her, holding onto her hands unwilling to let her go. "This is not a dream. You are really here with me, Light."

Usagi couldn't response. Either she was unable to due shock or his words just did not channel any sense into her yet. She didn't know whether to smile or cry after hearing what he have just said. How should she react now when she knew he was indeed there with her? She wanted to jump and hug him as tight as she could, pouring out tears of joy but her body was too paralyzed from shock, temporary forbidding her to do so.

She watched wordlessly as Seiya leaned closer towards her and pressed his lips lovingly on hers. Like usual, they fix perfectly. He kept them there for a minute, long enough for his lips to feel the warmth of hers. It had been a long time since they last kissed and to be able to feel her lips on his again, the sensation was truly fantastic. He wanted to stay at that loving gesture forever but after realizing a tiny tear dripping off from Usagi's face, Seiya immediately withdrew himself.

"Light…?" Seiya stared startlingly at the crying maiden not understanding her tears. His face contorted with worry. Why was she crying? Did he upset her again? He couldn't understand her grief unless she didn't like him kissing her. Seiya continued to stare concernedly at Usagi who was wiping her tears away with both hands. He didn't dare to ask or touch her because it seems like the only thing he did now was make her cry. All he wanted now was for her to stop crying and talk to him somehow. The Maiden of the Light never fails to leave the Dark Lord feeling powerless and helpless each time she shed a tear. Indeed, she overpowered him easily. Who's the legend strongest now?

Without a warning, Usagi practically pounced on Seiya, knocking him onto the soft bed and attacking him with a kiss. He was totally caught off-guard in absolute surprise. Just a minute ago she was crying dreadfully and now she was kissing him with such overflowing passion? Seiya couldn't understand Usagi at all but still kissed her back happily despite his confusion.

Usagi broke the kiss after a minute with tears streaming down her lovely face like endless rivers. Worries overwhelmed Seiya once again. Why was she crying now? He gazed concernedly at the beautiful maiden lying on top of him realizing that her tears had trailed down her cheek and landed onto his vest.

"You are real! You are real! You are really here with me!" Usagi finally spoke between her cries. "I've missed you! I've missed you so much…" She began dealing several powerless raps against his chest as she cried. "Baka! Where have you been?! What took you so long?! I've been waiting for you… been waiting for you all these while! I thought I will never see you again!! Baka! Baka!" She stopped her rampage at the startled Seiya and hugged him as tightly as she could. "I've missed you so much! It's so lonely… so lonely without you! So, So… Don't… never… ever leave me again, you hear me?!" She cried in demand and rubbed her face against his vest wiping away her escaping tears.

A smile etched across Seiya's face followed by a light giggle. He instantly relaxed, relieved to know that she was crying tears of joy. "Please forgive me, Light. It was never my intention to leave you alone." he affectionately wrapped his arms around Usagi locking her on top of him. "I promise… no matter what happens from now, I will never ever let you leave me again. Never… Be prepared to stay with me for eternity, Light."

Usagi tightened her clinch onto him and nodded in response. She was deeply enchanted and trusted his word despite knowing clearly Seiya was the guy that she was completely forbidden to be with. Their cruel fate, forbidden love or inevitable destiny, she care less about all these now that he was really here with her.

"I love you, Seiya." Usagi gazing down into his eyes of beautiful dim-blue declared.

A spark radiated through his body at her confession. It had acted quickly, and after a second, that feeling had passed, but it left him feeling warm and with a need to kiss those rosy lips he had attached to a few minutes ago. He reactively leaned upwards bringing his lips onto hers before grabbing onto her waist and flipping her over so he was on top of her instead of the other way round. Supporting his weight with both arms outstretched on either side of her thin fame he bent over coating her mouth with soft kisses.

Seiya gently licked her lips savouring the taste before he moved down caressing her neck with his lips. A soft moan escaped her mouth before his lips returned to hers hungrily for more. He could swear that she tasted of sugar or honey; something delicious and addicting. He gently slid his tongue into her mouth, closing his lips on hers before slipping his fingers behind her neck and running his thumb across the side, he felt her pulse quicken.

Her grip around his neck tightened. Usagi could feel Seiya's body heating up from their passion filled kisses. She was shaking; her heart was racing faster and faster at the feel of Seiya moving his hands down from her neck, with the burning desire to explore her body. Though butterflies were going wild at the bottom of her stomach, she felt warm all over.

It almost seemed like neither of them could control their own bodies anymore till Seiya abruptly withdrew himself breaking the kiss. He stiffened, staring down at the beautiful maiden with a thick blush coating on his face. He looked away embarrassingly ashamed by his thoughtless action, repeatedly scolding himself for acting so insensitive. Usagi had just been through some horrible experience of nearly getting rape and here he was pushing his lust onto her. But he couldn't help it for the woman he loved was lying underneath him with barely any clothes on. Furthermore, she looked absolutely alluring and attractive. It does take a whole lot of self-control and thoughtfulness to stop his strong desire, definitely no other man besides the Dark Lord could withdrew from such temptation.

Usagi, on the other hand, stared worriedly at Seiya as he quietly lifted her up from her lying position before gently wrapping her up with a blanket. Why did he stop? Was it because he grew sick of her already? Or because he finally saw the flaws in her now and that she wasn't good enough for the Hell King after being physically harassed? Usagi found herself drowning with insecurity and fear of rejection. She anxiously reached out for Seiya's arm preventing him from leaving the bed.

"A-are you mad at me?" Usagi enquired softly. Her voice had been barely audible, even to him who stood less than a few inches from her.

Seiya turned back towards Usagi with a perplexed expression. His eyebrows furrowed, unsure of how she came up with that conclusion. He peered at her, waiting for more explanation, but she kept quiet, waiting for a response from him. Usagi's lips quivered as the seconds drifted past, her eyes already watery. He was taking too long to respond. So, he was really mad at her? He finally sees her as a burden now?

Seiya noticing that Usagi was crying immediately sat back down. "What's wrong, Light? Did I do anything to upset you again?"

Seiya couldn't find any possible mistake he did that would make her cry like this. He was even thoughtful and considerate enough to stop his burning desire fearing that he might upset her if he went further. But why was she still crying?

"Seiya, I'm sorry… Please don't get mad at me… I di-didn't mean to l-let that happen… Please don't abandon me… please…" she cried in between her tears while wiping them with both hands.

"What are you saying?" Seiya tilted his head to the side, unable to figure out why she always assumed the worse of his love for her. He ran his fingers across her cheeks, clearing the unnecessary tears. "I was never mad at you, Light. How can you even think that I will abandon you after I spend all these strenuous efforts and time looking for you? I promised you, didn't I? That I will never ever allow you to leave me again…"

Usagi cries softened as she swallowed his words. "Then… why, why did you…" She looked down, too bashful to continue.

It took Seiya a few seconds to finally catch the hint to her worries. This, of course, made him looked away and blushed a little.

"Because... Everything about you is so beautiful…"

Usagi's face darkened instantly at his sudden compliment. No matter how many sweet things he told her she still managed to turn red. Seiya turned back smiling charmingly at her blush. Placing his fingers under her chin, he lifted her face so she was looking into his eyes of sincerity. "So beautiful that you never fail to mesmerize me… I love you very much, Light. So much that I don't wish to hurt you in any ways." He tenderly took her hand in his and peered deeply at her face of redness. Indeed, she was too beautiful in his eyes and he couldn't set his vision off her, ever. "I will destroy you if I am to lose control of myself and you might end up hating me… that's why…"

"I don't mind…" Usagi interrupted softly as she wrapped her arms around his neck to prevent him from noticing how very red her face was right at that moment. "If it's you… I don't mind…"

Seiya was speechless. His mouth hung open, but no words came out. He managed to close it back after the few seconds of bashful silence. "Do you really know what you are saying, Light?"

Usagi nodded shyly. She was relieved to know that he didn't despise her but happier to hear about his true feelings. The maiden gladly tightened her hold around Seiya's neck nearly choking him though he wasn't complaining about it. Instead, he grinned devilishly placing his hands onto her shoulders and pulled her onto his lap.

"You are not allowed to take back your words…" Seiya grinned mischievously wrapping his arms around her thin frame.

"Now the big bad wolf is going to eat up the little Usagi(bunny)…" He leaned towards her pausing for a brief moment before leaving a trail of kisses down her slender neck. Usagi gasped before she started to giggle uncontrollably. It tickled badly.

"Wait! Seiya… St-stop it!" Usagi laughed an oppose flailing her arms around as she squirmed around on his lap trying to move out of his reach. She was unsuccessful since wherever she moved he would follow. Eventually she toppled off of his legs, but he caught her before she made contact to the ground not allowing her to escape. Usagi's pout quickly turned back to soft giggles as Seiya continued to plant kisses all over her neck.

"Bad Usagi. How dare you try escaping from me?" He muttered playfully, his lips never left her neck and Usagi couldn't stop laughing all the while. His fingers remained enclosed around her arm so she wouldn't fall. "I'm not done eating you."

"Stop it! Stop it! It's ticklish!" Usagi giggled uncontrollably.

A minute ago, he was like a gentle, warm-hearted angel listening to her cries and soothing her worries, but now, he's acting like a totally different person; a big bad wolf or rather a playful devil teasing her with ticklish kisses. Nevertheless, she still loved him either way.

Seiya stopped kissing her for a split second so he could pull her back upright.

"Seiya!" Usagi squealed in between her laughs, turning around to him and covered his mouth with her hands before she died of laughter. He kissed her fingers in the same manner holding onto her wrists gently but securely to prevent her from trying to stop him. Her whole body shook with a fit of laughter. Usagi couldn't remember the last time she had laughed this hard. But she knew it was definitely with him.

Soon, Usagi was experiencing a difficult time in breathing from all the incessant laughing. Lucky for her, the door knocked, "Excuse me. It's Hotaru here. Are you awake yet, Usagi? Jing told me everything and I've brought clothes for you. Please answer me if you are awake."

Seiya stopped his teasing game and wrapped his arms around Usagi tightly allowing her to give her response. The maiden took a deep breath calming herself down before answering back aloud. "Yes, I'm awake! Please hold on for a minute!"

"I will be waiting outside then…" Seiya reluctantly released Usagi leaving her feeling the chill of loneliness all over again. She anxiously grasped onto his hand gazing at him with puppy-doll eyes.

Seiya chuckled, putting on his leather robe with his left hand while holding onto her hand with his right. "Don't worry. I am not leaving you… I can't bear to…" He planted a soothing kiss on her forehead. "I will be just outside the door. Just call me when you are done or if you get attack by any other wolves. I'll come and rescue you." He smiled warmly down at her making Usagi blush at his charm. No doubt, he was her guardian angel. She nodded taking in that he was only a wall away from her. She was determined to change as fast as she could so he won't have to wait too long for her.

--

"Usagi…" Hotaru rose up her knuckles attempting to knock again but before she could land another hit, the door was pulled open swiftly.

Hotaru froze at the handsome figure looking down at her. _"So, he's Usagi's lover?" _

None of them spoke a word. Hotaru was too shy to, while Seiya was too preoccupied eyeing on the pretty pink kimono in Hotaru's hands.

"Is this for Light?" He asked his eyes not leaving the silk garment.

"Ha… Hai!" Hotaru answered at once immediately assuming that he was referring to Usagi.

"Mmmm…" Seiya's lips instantly curved into a charming smile thinking that the gorgeous kimono suited Usagi perfectly.

"You've got a pretty good taste." He finally glimpsed at Hotaru. "She will look absolutely stunning in this."

"Ha… Hai!" Hotaru blushed and opened a path for Seiya to step out while she robotically took a step in. Closing the door behind her, she let out a breath, fully releasing her tension.

"Is there something wrong, Hotaru?" Usagi asked confused by her tense reaction.

"No… no… nothing in particular." Hotaru grinned anxiously. "Here… Here is your change of clothes…" She directed the garment over to Usagi.

Usagi eyes widened and her jaw dropped at the beauty of the kimono handed over to her. She couldn't peel her eyes away from it. It was lovely and exclusive. The gentle pink silk with the delicate violet orchard dotting the frame of the kimono came with a perfectly match purple cloth running across its middle. "It's… it's beautiful." Usagi complimented, her fingers traced the largest amethyst orchid near the middle of the kimono.

"I'm glad you like it." Hotaru smiled.

"B-but I can't have this!" Usagi rejected taking in that the kimono must have cost a fortune. She remembered seeing it on a window display during their walk in Kyoto. Though she couldn't clearly recall its price, she was sure that Jing and Hotaru had a long fight over getting this expensive gown. "I… I can't have this… It's too costly…"

Hotaru shook her head gently, "It's nothing compared to what your husband gave Jing."

"Eh?! Husband?" Usagi gasped flushing a deep red. She could barely acknowledge her state as Seiya fiancée not to mention being his spouse. No matter how many times she heard the mistake out loud, she still managed to turn red.

Hotaru nodded. "We can't thank him enough for granting the Sea Dragon to Jing so that we could get to Atlantis sooner."

"Sei-Seiya did that?" Usagi smiled lightly at her lover's kindness.

"Hai! Your husband is really amazing!" Hotaru praised making Usagi blushed again at her addressing error. "Oh! You better start changing… He's waiting for you outside right?"

Usagi gasped out of anxiousness, repeatedly scolding herself for the delay. Didn't she assure minutes ago that she wasn't going to let him wait too long? She hurriedly dropped the blanket covering her and as she stripped off from her torn skirt she suddenly recalled something important.

Usagi paused for a second. Reaching for her skirt pocket, she took out a crimson red hair-tie and smiled to herself. _"Seiya…"_

--

* * *

--

Outside, Seiya was waiting patiently for Usagi to finish dressing. He folded his arms leaning against the wall that was directly opposite the closed wooden door. He could imagine it already, Usagi in that pretty pink kimono. She'd look like an angel, not that she didn't appear like one already. In his eyes, she was the most beautiful thing in the world and nothing could be compared to the beauty he sees in her.

The approaching footstep coming to his way disturbed Seiya's thoughts.

"You are really giving the emperor Sea Dragon to me just like that?" The manly voice asked Seiya. "Are you sure about this?"

"Take it. I don't need it anymore." Seiya responded simply still unbothered to look at Jing. "Besides, it doesn't belong to me, originally… Give it back to your father if you don't want it."

Jing was quiet for a second as he eyed on the big golden orb on his hand, the key to control the majesty Sea Dragon. He still couldn't believe he was interacting with the Hell King who seemed like a completely different person right now compared to last night when he was cruelly torturing the helpless pirates. But what shocked him most was that the Dark Lord unconditionally granted him the authority over the Sea Dragon, the legendary sea creature that he worked so hard to dominate from Poseidon.

Though Jing understood clearly that the Sea Dragon was actually an appreciation gift from the Hell King towards his months of care for Usagi, he honestly thought it was way too much. Besides, he didn't mind taking care of Usagi at all. Actually he did it because he wanted to.

Seiya on the other side sensed Jing's secret admiration for Usagi suddenly stated out loud, "Usagi is MY Light."

Jing jerked a little at the Dark Lord's declaration. He saw him slowly turning his vision towards him, his midnight blue eyes sharpened with seriousness. "I am not allowing anyone to take her away from me."

"You are possessive, aren't you" Jing commented in a soft murmur; his voice was barely audible. He was surprised to learn about the Dark Lord's crazy obsession over the Maiden of the Light. No doubt, she was his one and only weakness.

"Can I afford not to?" Seiya catching his faint murmuring replied.

Indeed, he couldn't because to lose Usagi was way too easy, so easy that it frightened him; all he needed to do was to release her hand for more than a second and she might just disappear. He regretted deeply and blamed himself for lowering his guards on her family which was partially the reason that led to their separation. If it wasn't for Usagi's father crying pleads, Kakyuu would have suffered a whole lot worse though Mercury merciless wrath was no better. The Dark Lord swore to keep an eye on the maiden at all times until they were safely back in Hell. That's right. He couldn't afford to lose her again. So, why was he still standing here? Right now, she was no where near his vision. Shouldn't he be eyeing on her the whole time?

"_Damn!"_ Seiya cursed under his breath.

He wanted so badly to rush in now that he remembered his promise to himself, but he couldn't possibly do that, couldhe? The Dark Lord definitely didn't want to be nicked as a pervert down in legend. Besides, what were the odds of having an intruder or enemy invading into Usagi's room and stealing her away from him when they were in the middle of the vast sea and when he was outside guarding?

But all of the sudden, Seiya felt a familiar presence mysteriously emerged closeby followed by a piercing girl's scream coming from Usagi's room.

"IIYAAAA!! PERVERT!!"

--

* * *

--


	30. His Love, Her Trust: Their Devotion

**--**

**His Love, Her Trust: Their Devotion**

--

Hotaru's sharp scream of fright brought the two young men stomping into the room.

"What?! An intruder?!"

This scene of Hotaru rapidly throwing objects at a mysterious person dressed in full black-hooded gown was what Seiya and Jing burst in on.

"Seiya! Seiya!" Immediately, Usagi leapt up at Seiya, tossing her arms around him and locking them around his necks. She squeezed him tightly, practically choking him. "Bad guy appeared when I'm changing!" She cried, pointing at the odd intruder who was now dodging Jing reckless charging attacks.

"I'm NOT a bad guy!" The intruder protested grabbing Jing by his arm before his fist made contact to his hidden face, lifting him up and tossing him over his shoulder.

"Jing! Are you alright?" Hotaru worriedly rushed over to the groaning man getting up from the ground.

"Sorry, sorry…" The mysterious intruder apologized down to Jing. "I didn't mean to hurt you. It's just my habit to throw any men I grab hold on."

"You bastard!" Jing got up to his feet but before he could make any further move, he felt a breeze flew past him and in the next blink of an eye, Seiya was already yanking the intruder up by the lapel of his gown with a deadly look.

"Wait! Wait… My Lord! This is a misunderstanding…" The mysterious intruder panicked as he tried to force out an explanation for his sudden appearance in Usagi's changing room. But, from the looks of the Dark Lord's angry glare, it was pretty obvious that his King wasn't going to believe any of his words. Seiya remained scarily quiet as he effortlessly pushed the intruder against the wall and glared intensely into his panicking red eyes.

"Hermes…" The Dark Lord broke the silence with his deadly cold voice. "How much of Light's virgin skin that even I haven't seen had you seen?!"

All jaws dropped at Seiya's question including Hermes'. Closing his mouth, he shook his head animatedly as he anxiously shot out a long reply without thinking, "I didn't see anything! Well… I did see a bit… but it's only a glimpse, so I didn't see anything! I guess I did saw something but, it's not what you think I saw!" Hermes tried to explain his innocence but the deadly glare from his lord made him stumble through his words. "Believe me, my lord! I just traced your presence and I didn't know that Light-hime was changing when I got here but even so… I didn't see anything! I swear with Artemis' life! I didn't see anything that I am not supposed to…"

Seiya continued glaring suspiciously at Hermes for a moment longer before he slowly wrestled his fingers loose and released Hermes' gown. Landing on the floor with ease, the Grim Reaper exhaled a breath of relief but a firm pat on his shoulder stiffened his posture once again as he lifted his face to meet the Dark Lord's evil stare.

"Hermes, do you know what happens to all those that dare violate my Light?" Seiya asked in a scary, cool voice.

Hermes swallowed hard before forcing out an anxious grin, "Can I not know?"

"Unfortunately, that's not an option." Seiya grinned mysteriously as he tightened his grip on Hermes' shoulder. "However, because you are my worthy subordinate, I will give you two choices of my mere punishment." Seiya grinned at the anxious Hermes. "Don't worry, they are nothing serious. You just have to lose one of your eyes. That's all! How generous of me! You even get to choose, between your right eye OR your left. Come, pick an option."

"_That's NOT a mere punishment at all!" _Hermes screamed in his thought. He shook his head frantically not wanting to lose any of his beautiful red orbs, but he knew he could never escape from the Hell King's penalty. "Is there a third option, my lord?"

"There is…" Seiya nodded with a casual grin much to Hermes surprise. "That is… I'll choose it for you."

"Gah?!" Hermes jaw hung wide open from shock and fear, with no words channelling out from its emptiness. Now, he regretted deeply on agreeing to find the Dark Lord. But, it was not like he got a choice to reject being in the search team since he was originally the God of Travel; if anyone was quick enough to locate the Hell King, it was him. Yep. He had found their lord alright, but instead of getting a reward or praise, he was stuck between three choices of cruel penalty. What unfairness! Where was lady justice when he need her?

It was as if his thoughts were being heard, Usagi stepped in and voiced softly, "Seiya, please don't punish Hermes. I don't think he meant any harm."

"Lady Justiceeeeeeeeee!! No, I mean Light-himeeeeeee!!" Hermes gazing at Usagi cried touching tears.

_(Japanese translation: Hime means Princess.) _

The compassion maiden giggled lightly at Hermes exaggeration upon recognizing him as the Grim Reaper. It had been a thousand years since she had last saw Hermes or any of the Guardians of Hell whom she were also closed with. She hadn't forgotten about them of course, but she might need some help in recognizing them if she was ever lucky enough to see them again.

"But this pervert violated you…" Seiya gazing down at Usagi grabbed Hermes by the lapel of his gown and began shaking him uncaringly as if he was a rug doll. "Shouldn't he be punished? Don't you want his eye?"

"Of course not! That's disgusting!" Usagi exclaimed firmly. "I've no interest in his eye!"

"_Disgusting?"_ Hermes didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the maiden's thoughtless statement as Seiya reluctantly loosened his grip on him and sighed. "Which part of him do you want then?"

"…"

Silence of disbelief filled the room for a second. Hermes was seen sniffing at the dark corner. What have he done to deserve such treatment? Maybe his carelessness… If he was able to leave this place in one piece, he swore he'll be extra careful not to offend Usagi and flirt less with Minako whenever Yaten wasn't around.

"Baka! What are you thinking?! I don't want any part of him!" Usagi shrieked at Seiya before tossing herself to him, locking her arms around his neck much to everyone surprise. She breathed into his ear, "I only want you."

Seiya stood there wordlessly for a second, taking in the maiden's message. Soon, his lips were seen curving into a pleasant smile. Any fury he previously felt towards Hermes disappeared as he locked his arms around her waist firmly and whispered a reply, "I'm forever yours."

The three living beings stared silently at the legendary couple public display of affection. Jing enviously glanced away, not wanting to see the maiden he likes hugging another man. Hotaru peered admiringly at the warming sight before her while Hermes exhaled a sigh of relief. Good. He's safe.

Then, both Seiya's and Hermes' eyes shot up with awareness at the intuition of a very powerful being making his approach onto them. They instantly knew who he or they were as Seiya directed a silent glare at the Grim Reaper.

"Haha! Sorry…" Hermes grinned nervously upon understanding the reason behind his lord angry gaze. "I forgot to mention that I saw Poseidon with his country of army heading this way."

"What?!" Jing and Hotaru burst out together. "A-are you seriously?! The Lord of the Sea, Poseidon is coming?"

"He's able to track me down due to the presence of the Sea Dragon." Seiya replied with a sigh. Because of Hermes, Seiya had wasted too much time here. He would have avoided any conflict with the God of the Sea, if he had only place Poseidon's pursue into greater concern over Usagi's matters. Not like it could be help since his angel always comes first no matter how the situations were or will be.

When the whole ship began to shake recklessly, Jing followed by Hotaru hurriedly stumbled out of the room and up onto the upper deck to check on the cause of the sudden earthquake. On the other hand, Seiya, Usagi and Hermes took no interest to follow them or verify what was going on outside.

"He's here alright." Hermes nodded to himself. He gazed at Seiya who was whispering something to the maiden in his arms. The next second, Usagi was seen shaking her head frantically, "No, no, no, no!" She opposed, locking her arms around Seiya's neck not allowing him to let her go. "Don't go, Seiya! What if you get hurt? I don't want to see you get hurt again!"

A muffled sound escaped Hermes' lips at Usagi's sentence. He? The supreme King of Hell gets hurt? That was hard to imagine. Unless the Dark Lord voluntarily allowed the opponent to injure him, it was near impossible to even land a single scratch on the legend strongest if he got serious enough to overlook any distraction and heaven help those fools who dared challenge him when he was in his most merciless.

"Nothing bad is going to happen to me, Light." Seiya ignoring Hermes' chuckles comforted. "I'll be alright. So, just stay here with Hermes till I get back alright?"

Though Seiya swore he would keep an eye on Usagi at all times till they returned back to Hell, he didn't wish to engage her in a battle where she might be targeted and risk losing her or seeing her get upset if she was to witness his ruthless self during his fight. Besides, he trusted Hermes' ability to look after Usagi. They didn't associate the Grim Reaper with the word 'Death' for nothing. He was the Leader of all the Soul Keepers because of his ultimate capabilities to not only seize the dead, but to torment any living with the taste of hell - _that's if he gets serious._ Despite his silly behaviour during his off-duty, Hermes had no doubt earned the Dark Lord trust to be set high up as one of Hell's most worthy death gods.

"No, no, no, no!" Usagi squealed tightening her clinch onto her lover.

Usually, the maiden would give in and trust whatever the Dark Lord's claim, but not this time. He had no idea how worry she was during their period of separation or whenever he was away in a battle. The maiden definitely didn't want to experience such concern and helplessness again. She didn't want him to get hurt again. It'd hurt her too much to know that he was in pain and she was unable to help, and the worse of all, fate would always take her away from him, preventing her from ever learning whether he got better or not. She had enough of all these fears and worries that always swallowed her whole, both mentally and emotionally. She wouldn't be able to handle it on her own again. Wasn't he aware that he was the single most valuable thing to her in the whole world? Losing him would be unacceptable.

"Don't leave me here! Don't go! You'll make me worry about you… What would I do if anything was to happen to you? Didn't you promise me that you will never leave me? You can't go! You can't go!" Usagi cried.

Seiya sighed quietly and eyed on Hermes silently asking him for a suggestion. The Grim Reaper just shrugged and shook his head. He was a soul hunter, not a love expert. Seiya looked back down at his maiden. She was squeezing him tightly, urging her tears to stop already.

"Please don't cry, Light. I can defend myself just fine. It's you I am worried about… Everyone just loves to take you away from me." Seiya muttered appeasing words into her ear, alternating soothing sentences with gentle kisses on her cheek as he attempted to hinder her tears.

He didn't understand why he was so much better at causing her tears rather than stopping them, especially since he hated doing the first, but how could she expect him to remain here with her when there's a whole troop of enemies outside, ready to attack them? Maybe he should try to escape from fighting Poseidon since he didn't wish Usagi to get involve into any sort of battle with him. A pure white angel like her wasn't supposed be anywhere near a battlefield.

"Will you stop crying if I bring you along?" Seiya asked thoughtfully. "You'll always be by my side then…"

Usagi peered up at him, her sniffs softened. "Will you not fight then?"

"For your sake, I'll try not to…" Seiya smiled.

Usagi stared at him for a moment before nodding lightly. At least she gets to be with him and not be left out not knowing anything. If she could help it, she didn't want to leave his side regardless of the circumstances, not even when he was in a vicious battle. Why couldn't they have a peaceful day just for once? Why couldn't all these other lords, whoever they were, leave them alone and stop trying to separate them?

Eventually, the maiden shut her eyes and let out a deep breath, clearing her mind of all the thoughts of their shaky future. There'd no benefit gained from focusing on all the 'what ifs'. Right now, all she wanted was to be with him and nothing else.

--

The next thing she knew, they were already on the upper deck. Usagi felt the warm layer of sunlight touching her cheeks as it tried to intrude into her close lids. She opened her eyes, looking around with a bewildered look. Since when did they step out from the room and into the open? But what shocked her further was the lovely, sandy white sea-shore beached along the side of the ship they were in. Apart from the mysterious island, she noticed that they were actually surrounded by a vast of sea armies. While those equipped soldiers on-shore looked humanly enough, those creatures in the water sure didn't. Most of them were covered with fins and colourful scales and they had tails of a fish. To make matters worse, at the four borders of the ship were four enormous, fierce-looking sea serpents glaring down at them.

It was indeed a scary sight for the innocent maiden.

Usagi shivered and tugged at Seiya's vest, burying her face into his chest. What was happening here? Why were they surrounded by an island of strange sea creatures? So, this was how a battlefield looks like? It was definitely a million times more intensifying than she had pictured it to be.

"Don't worry. I'm here. No one can hurt you…" Seiya comforted, smiling gently down at her. "Just stay with me… Everything is going to be alright."

Usagi didn't say anything. She couldn't understand why her lover could appear to be so calm and relaxed when they were mobbed by countless of weird sea creatures. But his silent confident and dominating presence were enough to soothe her fear and worry. She beamed at him weakly and nodded before she dropped her face, letting the side of her cheek rest against his chest. She knew nothing bad was going to happen to her with her guardian angel close by. Whether it was a thousand years ago, or now, he was all she needed to feel protected.

Seiya looked back up at the sea of marine armies before him and grinned. Secretly, he craved to send this vast sum of sea creatures to Hell formulating them under him. It wasn't a bad idea, especially when he had lost quite a number of forces due to the war with Heaven. Furthermore, the whole process should be rather easy especially with Hermes around. Despite so, he hesitated to start an attack not wanting to frighten Usagi or risk losing her if she was to witness his fearsome brutality. Wiould she hate him if he was to taint the beautiful blue sea red? Maybe he should just avoid battling just for now. He didn't want to do anything that might make him lose her, no matter how slim that chance was.

"Let's go, Hermes." Seiya ordered, turning away to release his big angelic black wings.

"My Lord, you are not intending to bring all these tempting souls back with us?" Hermes asked hovering behind him.

"Not today." Seiya answered plainly.

But before he could make a flight up, a loud powerful voice called out stopping his departure.

"Hold it! Dark Lord! You are not allowed to leave!"

Seiya paused his step at the voice of a recognizable presence. Tilling his head slightly up, he glimpsed at one of the gigantic sea serpent. Seated on top of its head was a young man with aqua blue, shoulder-length hair glaring angrily down at him.

Seiya grinned lightly, "Are you here to thank me, Poseidon?"

"What nonsense! What makes you think I would even thank you after everything you have done?!" The Lord of the Sea yelled back angrily.

"At least, I helped you locate your long-lost son." Seiya informed, pointing his thumb to Jing who was among the troop of soldiers on the island. "And you should thank me for being merciful too."

"You are really the worse…" Poseidon commented, clenching his fists.

He had his intense glare focused on the Dark Lord and no one else. The reunion with his forgotten son was less of a concern now after spotting his archenemy as he pointed his finger at Seiya. "You invaded into my territory, killed my soldiers, injured my sons, stole my emperor dragon and even… and even seduced my wife?! You playboy! Thief! Give my wife back!"

"AH?!"

All jaws dropped at once, including the armies and generals serving under Poseidon. Seiya was totally taken aback by surprise at the Sea God's outrageous proclaim. The confused Dark Lord definitely couldn't recall meeting Poseidon's wife, not to mention seducing her. He admitted to his previous few claims but certainly not the last one. Why on earth did he need to steal someone else wife when he was so devotedly in love with the most beautiful beauty in legend.

Hearing someone sniffling, Seiya glimpsed down immediately meeting Usagi's watery blue eyes.

"Sei-Seiya stole someone's wife?" Usagi began sobbing sorrowfully. "Seiya had an affair…! Seiya had an affair!"

"No…no, Light… This is a misunderstanding. I didn't seduce his wife or have any affair. Trust me, Light!"

Seiya anxiously tried explaining but the maiden in his arms didn't seem to be listening to his justification. She was crying and hiccupping uncontrollably, and none of his words seemed to be making any sense to her at all.

The more the maiden cried, the more helpless the Dark Lord felt. Indeed, her tears were very deadly weapons to the supreme Hell King. He could never stand to see her upset. There were only two things he was scared of, two things that bothered him; losing her and making her unhappy. That kind of thinking lingered after his every action, after every word he said to her. He thought twice about everything he did around her, careful not to do anything that might upset her. Great! So much for his strenuous effort for not trying to upset her and risk losing her, his two fears were becoming a reality now, weren't they?

"Hey! Are you listening to me?! Give me back my wife! You thief!" Poseidon shouted across.

"Be quiet! I didn't take your wife! I don't even know who she is!" Seiya yelled back, losing his cool.

"You are lying! After she saw you, she told me she's in love with you and left me! You playboy! Flirt! Wife Thief!"

"WAaaahhhh!! Seiya really had an affair!" Usagi cried louder upon hearing Poseidon's proclaims.

"No… no… Listen to me, Light… I-… Will you just shut up?!" Seiya yelled agitatedly, changing his glance from the crying maiden over to Poseidon who was still shouting random things at him, disturbing his moment with Usagi.

"WAaaaahhhh!! Seiya yelled at me and had an affair!" Usagi continued her cries.

"No, no… I wasn't yelling at you…" Seiya's next sentence was instantly interrupted by Hermes who hovered over to the couple.

He looked understandably down at the upset maiden who was now glancing at him.

"Light-hime, you don't understand a man's heart at all. Men are born as flirts. It's only in our blood to flirt whenever there is a chance to. And, I'm sure our lord did that out of a moment of foolishness." Hermes explained with a nod.

"WAaaaaaahhhh! Seiya carelessly had an affair!!" His console just made Usagi cried louder.

"Hermes!! Are you actually on my side?! You are not helping at all!" Seiya yelled at the Grim Reaper with great irritation.

"Did I say anything wrong?" Hermes asked innocently, scratching his head with his index.

"Yo-You just be quiet! And shut that guy up there!" Seiya ordered, pointing at Poseidon.

"Ah?! But he's tough…" Hermes argued taking in that it was very troublesome to get engage in a battle with Poseidon and his million of troops.

"Hermes, do you know what happens to all those that dare disobey my orders?"

It wasn't a question, it was a threat.

Hermes swallowed hard and avoided the Dark Lord deadly glare. "Immediately, My Lord!"

Right after Hermes had left, Seiya looked back down at the sobbing maiden in his arms. Usagi had her face away from his gaze, wiping her tears against his vest. The reason why she was still clinching onto him despite everything was partially because she trusted him enough to know that he would never cheat on her. But, she needed assurance. Her tears were not cried out of anger or grief, but more of fear. She didn't want him liking another girl beside her. She wasn't as pure and innocent like what everyone claimed, especially when it came to love. Behind that innocent mask laid the secret desire to keep the Dark Lord to herself. Love was selfish. No one was going to have the Dark Lord's affection except her, if she could help it. She always feared that she wasn't pretty or good enough for him. After all, he was the supreme King of Hell; someone utterly extraordinary. He should deserve the best right? And what if she wasn't? Tears continued to roll down her face as she continued generating such thoughts.

"Please don't cry, Light. I can't stand it when you cry like that." Seiya pleaded, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead in an attempt to soothe her cries or made her listen to him at least. "Believe me. I love you, and I would never even dream of seeing any other girl but you. You should know that right?"

Usagi slowly lowered her hand from her eyes and nodded. There was always something about his words and the way he said them that made her believe him. How sly. How did he always manage to come up with all these perfect words to gain her trust? A faint smile grew on her face as she shed one last tear, all the pain eased away. She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him as tightly as she could.

Seiya stood there surprised for a second before pressing his cheek against hers, amazed by her ability to believe him.

"I was so scared that you weren't going to believe me..." He breathed into her ear.

"Iiee..." Usagi withdrew herself, shaking her head lightly as she peered into his dim-blue eyes. "I trust Seiya. When you say you didn't, you didn't… I believe you… because…"

"I love you…" Seiya finished for her with a gentle smile spreading across his face.

Usagi blushed deeply and stared at him, entranced by his words. Acting on the strong emotion they felt, they brought their faces closer to each others, watching the distance between them disappear. His lips soon met hers with a light touch. Yes, it was proven that nothing could break the bond between them. True love was a chain and lock that attached people together for eternity regardless of where and when. As usual, they were lost in their own world, blinded by love, completely oblivious by the many pairs of eyes focused on them.

Practically every person or creature had abandoned their attack on Hermes to watch the kissing couple.

"There they go again…" Hermes sighed at their public display of affection.

The Dark Lord and the Maiden of the Light sure enjoyed showing off their love for each other quite a lot, didn't they? It was beyond amazing how they still managed to find time to boast their affection when they were actually surrounded by a sea of enemies.

"You thief! Quit ignoring me!" Poseidon shouted across to Seiya before ordering his armies to change their targets to the kissing couple.

The Dark Lord with his lips still attached on the maiden's gracefully flew up, effortlessly avoiding all the limitless number of spears and arrows darted toward them.

Because none of the sea armies held the capability to leave the water, they were practically powerless to host another attack at the levitating couple. Even with his eyes closed and attention focused on caressing the maiden's lips, the Dark Lord could still foresee the next coming move from the four sea serpents as he swiftly slid to his right and then left causing the four gigantic monsters to collide onto each other, creating a mess of internal conflict among themselves.

Hermes watched from afar at the Dark Lord effortless offensive tactics and shook his head at Poseidon, "Your troop is sure useless…"

"Shut up! How do you expect my sea of armies to attack him when he's flying around like a housefly?!" Poseidon standing on his tower-tall, water totem exclaimed furiously.

"But even in water… Didn't your troop still lose to our lord during his invasion into Atlantis?" Hermes asked curiously, patting Poseidon on his shoulder. "Seriously, how many times have you lost to our lord?"

Hermes casual way of questioning brought Poseidon to senselessly submit an answer while raising his right fist up, "How would I know when he was never serious about fighting me?! That thief! Ever since a thousand years ago, he never once took me seriously in a battle. And, just because he's gifted with a pair of wings and a little charm, all girls fall head over heels for him… He's really the worse… And… and… WHY AM I TELLING YOU ALL THESE?!" Poseidon spun around and glared at Hermes, finally realizing how foolish he looked answering his enemy's question.

Hermes gave him a shoulder shrug. "But, it seems to me that you're quite close with our lord."

Though Poseidon was neither an enemy nor an ally with the Dark Lord, their relationship did seem complex enough to be considered intimate. From what Hermes knew, Poseidon rejected allying with Heaven to go against Hell. The God of the Sea could have just join forces with Heaven if he honestly despised the Dark Lord that much. It really didn't make any sense at all. Besides, why didn't the Dark Lord killed Poseidon's sons and generals during his invasion into Atlantis for the Sea Dragon Seal? It was rather rare for the ruthless King of Hell to be showing mercy over those that opposed him.

"What nonsense! I'm not close to that thief at all!" Poseidon shouted back, disturbing Hermes' thought.

"Hermes, didn't I order you to shut him up?" Seiya carrying Usagi in his arms descended before Poseidon and glared at him. "You are still as noisy as ever…"

"You thief! Give me back my wife!" Poseidon demanded and pointed his weapon which took the shape of a fork at the suspended dark angel.

"I told you I didn't take your wife!" Seiya yelled back.

There was an awkward pause of silence. Seiya glared at Poseidon expecting him to argue back like usual but instead, he was quiet. And, it didn't take Seiya very long to notice that Poseidon wasn't exactly focusing on him but the maiden in his arms. He could catch a hint of desire gleaming in Poseidon's enlarged eyes. The way he peered at her, it almost seemed like he had just found a thousand years old treasure or some sort. Being the possessive lover he was, Seiya didn't want him or any other man, looking at Usagi like that. But who was he to blame when his maiden really appeared as angelically beautiful as the legend claimed, especially now that she was dressed in that lovely pink kimono. In the eyes of Poseidon, the maiden simply looked like a sweet little angel trapped inside the devil's arms. And he was determined to save her from the evil!

Usagi, on the other hand, was oblivious of Poseidon new found attraction on her as she continued clinching onto her lover quietly.

Seiya frowned lightly before tightening his hold around Usagi as if he was afraid that Poseidon would steal her from him. The Dark Lord possessively enfolded his left wing burying the maiden inside him and blocking Poseidon's vision on his lover. "Don't tell me you…"

Poseidon nodded with a grin, "Yes, I've just found my new queen."

--

* * *

--

"Here will do, Venus. It will be dangerous if you follow us any further. You really have to head back."

Yaten reluctantly released Minako's hand. As soon as he did, Minako clenched her hands into fists to keep herself from grabbing his hand again. This farewell wasn't permanent, or was it? Though her eyes were watery, she still managed to force a faint smile. There was no need to make this parting anymore difficult with frowns though. The same half-hearted smile was across his face as well.

"Do you really have to go?" Minako whispered even though she knew the answer.

Yaten looked down and nodded, "Yes. We got to find Seiya. But believe me, I'll be back."

"You said the exact same thing a thousand years ago." Minako stated in tears. "But you never return… You and the others just disappeared without a trace. I don't want that to happen again. I'm scared, Artemis… I don't want to sleep for a thousand years again to wait for you… I don't want to..."

She covered her face with both of her hands, not wanting him to see her cry anymore. She had been burying herself with tears ever since Haruka and Michiru came back with no news of Seiya or Usagi, which only meant that Yaten will have to follow up with the search. That familiar occurrence was a resemblance of a thousand years ago and her intuition told her that she might not see him again.

Yaten winced at his lover's cries, the pain she felt surging through his body almost as if their bodies were linked. He covered her wrists with his hands, prying them off of her face. She kept her eyes shut, straining to stay strong. Yaten put his hands on both sides of her face. His thumbs ran across her eyelids, coaxing her to open her eyes. Her lip quivered as she looked at him.

"It's different this time. Mercury, Haruka and Michiru didn't disappear, did they? They came safely back and I will too. Believe me. I'll be back…" Yaten told her gently.

For a moment, Minako just froze there. Her heart believed him, but her brain disagreed. Her mind reminded her of trust, the supposed foundation of a relationship. But, they were in a war now. Yaten might get attacked anytime during his search and what if he got hurt and couldn't manage to come back? What would she do then? Regardless of how talented or skilful the God of the Moon was, he'd never be able to defeat an army of heavenly gods if they strike an ambush right? Minako shook her head weakly, and she went back to staring at the floor.

Yaten exhaled quietly before glimpsing over to Taiki who had his vision away from them. "Taiki, can you please give us a minute."

The Master of the Wind nodded and quietly proceeded into the distance, far enough to give the couple some space alone.

Returning his focus back to his lover, Yaten placed his forefinger and thumb under her chin, raising it until she was looking into his eyes. "I'm never leaving you, Venus, I'll come back for you."

Once again, Minako turned her face downwards, still not sure whether she believed him or not. She refused to let him go, believing he won't return. Yaten gave her an exasperated look, determined to straightened things out. "You don't believe me?"

She shyly shook her head side to side, knowing he'd figure out the truth even if she insisted upon believing him. He sighed before pulling out a velvet box from his pocket, offering it to her. Minako stared blankly at the box as Yaten dropped it into one of her palms and wrapped his fingers around hers to keep the box in place. "I was thinking of giving it to you after my return. But, it's most probably better to do it now."

Minako looked at him, opening her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Yaten continued to peer adoringly at her and smiled, "I may not be as capable as Seiya… I cannot give you the Millennium Star…"

He paused and lifted the lid of the box, revealing an enchanting white diamond ring. "But, I can give you the Moon…"

Minako gasped, swallowing the lump forming in her throat and looked up at Yaten through her tears. She pointed to the ring, beaming.

"Yes. It's for you." He took the ring out. "A thousand years ago, after Apollo had drained my power and thrown me down from heaven, I struggled to keep myself alive because I wanted to see you again… I want to be with you again… but when I heard about your engagement with Apollo, I was devastated. I felt useless… I couldn't do anything for you… couldn't give you anything. Thus, I decided to use the final bit of my energy to call down the very light of the moon to create this ring for you. As a result, the moon disappeared and I was supposed to as well… but Seiya appeared and saved me. I owed my life to him, if it wasn't for him… I will never have the chance to give you this ring… to be with you again. So, even if it hurts me and you, I'll still have to go. But I promise I'll be back this time… because I love you and I want you to marry me."

Now, all Minako could do beside crying out tears of joy was to stare at Yaten who gracefully kneeled on one knee, his other foot planted on the ground as he poised the Moonlight ring before her left ring finger.

"Goddess of Love, Venus, I love you more than anyone and anything else in the world. I know our future together maybe tough and difficult. But, I am not giving up. I will stick to my promise and return to you. And I'd honoured if you'll wait for me. Marry me?" Yaten asked in a soft and sincere voice.

Yaten watched as her hands flew to her mouth as tears glistered in her eyes. But before she could give her response, a winged figure glided hastily down from the sky and grabbed Minako's by her waist, hurling her up into the air with him.

"Venus!!" Yaten called out.

Immediately, he shot up onto his feet but before he could make the second move, numerous thick metal chains intertwined his arms, and legs from behind, pulling him back forcefully. He fell to the earth with a loud thud as he got violently dragged back into the distant, away from his lover who was trapped inside the arms of his Nemesis.

"Artemis!!" Minako cried out as she struggled to break loose from the attacker's hold without an avail.

"I've finally got you, my lovely Venus."

Minako spun around at the familiar voice whispering into her ear. Her eyes enlarged with shock and terror at the sight of the blonde-headed man who tried to separate her from Yaten a thousand years ago and even now.

"Do you remember me?" He breathed as he closed his face on hers and Minako back away as he did.

"APOLLO!! GIVE VENUS BACK!!" Yaten demanded, thrashing about desperate to get free from the binding chain locked around his body.

A pair of strong hands came forth, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and yanked him up. Yaten glared heatedly at the dark haired man holding onto him. Trailing through the origin of the magical chains, Yaten noticed they were linked to the back of his attacker. The metal locks tightened their grip against him, forbidding his attempt to summon the Soul Fire.

"You must be Artemis. I am Cratus, God of Weaponry…" His attacker introduced in a low voice. "May I know where the Dark Lord is?"

"Like I will ever tell you…" Yaten groaned and glared up at Apollo. "Give… Give Venus back."

"Oh? Did I ruin your proposal, Artemis?" Apollo smirked as he placed his lips against Minako's cheek.

Minako screamed in oppose, calling out to Yaten at the same time while pushing herself away from Apollo's intimacy.

"How's the taste of your own medicine, my dear brother?"

"You bastard! Don't touch Venus!" Yaten choked as a different hand grasped him by his neck.

"Hello Artemis. I'm here to get my Soul flame back…"

"Haphaestus…" Yaten glanced at the man strangling him.

"Don't hurt Artemis! Let him go! Don't hurt Artemis!" Minako cried, tears of helplessness streaming down her lovely face.

To see her lover getting tortured by two powerful heavenly gods was definitely a devastating sight for the Goddess of Love, and the worse part was that she could do nothing besides calling out his name from above.

"You should have died a thousand years ago, Artemis." Apollo commented, descending down to the ground. "But, it's alright. You can die today, with Venus watching. And after your death, we shall take your soul with us. The Dark Lord can't revive you then… With you gone, I will marry Venus…"

"Like I will ever let you…" Yaten groaned, losing his strength to even clutch his fists.

He eyed at Minako who was still calling helplessly out to him. She had the most painful look drawn across her face and it hurts him badly to see her grieve. His external ache was nothing compared to what he was feeling inside. He couldn't die! Not like this, not _ever_!

He bit his lips as his mind began showing the vague image of the Dark Lord staring dominatingly down at him: _"Remember, your life belongs to me, Artemis. When I say you live, you cannot die. No one is allowed to take you away without my permission!"_

Yaten grinned faintly at his words. Of course he wasn't going to die. Besides owing his life to Seiya, he promised Minako that he'd never leave her. What made them think they were capable enough to go against the Dark Lord's words?

"I'm surprise you can still smile at a time like this." Haphaestus commented, gripping onto Yaten's neck firmly as he tried to trace the source of the Soul Flame in which the Dark Lord had it hidden inside his body. "Do you seriously believe that you can get out of here alive? No one is coming to save you. Your companion Templar is too busy getting himself destroyed by both Hebe and Siren. What's more, I don't sense any of the other generals nearby…"

"Don't tell me you are waiting for the Dark Lord?" Apollo laughed. "He's not going to save you this time round…"

"I don't need him to save me." Yaten answered firmly before gazing gently back at Minako. "Sorry Venus, please bear with it for a while more… I'll save you soon."

Minako didn't respond. She could feel tears well up in her eyes once again. She hated herself sometimes; she hated being powerless. Why couldn't she be as powerful and witty like Mercury or as helpful and independent like Michiru? She knew there was no use in self-blaming, but what else could she do?

"Save her?" Both Haphaestus and Apollo were heard laughing at Yaten's proclaim. "Stop acting like a hero. You can't even save yourself."

Haphaestus grinned evilly before releasing his grasp against Yaten's neck. "Cratus, you can kill him. The Soul Flame is buried within his soul…"

Cratus glanced emotionlessly at Yaten for a moment longer before operating his chains to hurl him higher, tightening the locks around his body as they tried to crash him alive. But instead of screaming out in pain, Yaten's lips were seen curving into a more subtle smile.

"You are not the Dark Lord." He muttered in a weak voice. "You can't take my life away…"

Inside his right fist, laid the sparkling Moonlight ring that he had created for Minako using his original power. His grip against the ring increased together with the tightening of the metal locks. The God of the Moon was trying his best to draw some power from the ring itself to stay alive, but he didn't want to destroy the gift he had made for Minako. Furthermore, the moonlight energy stored in the ring was not enough for him to break the godly chains. He needed the light from the Moon, itself. But, it was daytime now, a period when the moon wouldn't appear.

Then for an unknown reason, the chains around his body stopped tightening as the sky began to darken. The three heavenly gods froze as four obscure figures mysteriously rose from the grassy earth, forming a square border around them to prevent anyone to escape before one of the shadowy figure took a step forward and raised it hand.

"Darkness of the Night, Assemble!"

Another second passed, and inexplicably the sun set, the last orange rays sinking past the horizon. Darkness dropped down, covering the green environment with black veil, the clouds shifted away revealing the full moon, providing white rays from the night sky. All eyes watched as a glowing aura began to surround Yaten, in though he was in moonlight himself.

Cratus abruptly withdrew his locks on Yaten upon noticing two long glowing-red, double-bladed whips flying towards him from his both sides. More silvery thick chains were seen emerging from the back of Cratus as he deflected the attacking whips, causing the attackers whips to intertwine with his chains.

"You are?" Cratus questioned, his eyes following the glowing-red whips to the one shadowy figure.

The shadow giggled light-heartedly before removing the long black cloak that concealed its identity.

"Eris?!" Haphaestus and Apollo eyes widened with shock when they saw the boyish red-headed man chucking happily at Cratus, as though he had found a new toy.

"You are fun! Can I torture him, Nyx?" Eris pointing at Cratus asked keenly, turning his gaze over to the shadowy figure that was responsible for changing the time to night.

"Do as you like." Nyx answered uncaringly.

She took off her cloak, exposing her long white hair and silvery eyes, while the lower-half of her face was concealed behind a black cloth.

"Earth is such a filthy place…" She grumbled before shouting across to Yaten who was seen charging over to Apollo despite his injuries. "Artemis! Keys! Pass my keys back…"

"What keys?" Yaten uncaringly threw a response as he released his translucent moonlight wings, chasing after the escaping Apollo.

"The damn keys to the level eight spirit realm! I reminded the two of you to pass them back to me before you leave… Hey! Don't go! Return them first!" Nyx's yell fell into deaf ears as Yaten flew out of her sight.

"That idiot…" Nyx growled and spun around, looking at the left obscure figure. "Moros, do me a favour. Chase after that idiot and get my keys back. And please bring Venus back after Artemis had rescued her, we are running low on her love portions to feed the lonely spirits." She sighed and folded her arms. "And as for Erebus and I, we will look for Templar. Hopefully, my set of keys is with him…"

"Sure." Moros grinned, willing to assist his comrade.

He knew the Goddess of the Night very well. It was their first time visiting earth and Nyx wasn't feeling very pleased about travelling unaccompanied despite her independent and strong nature. Moros, on the other hand, was feeling rather enthusiastic to explore the land of the living as he enigmatically vanished from his standing spot.

Haphaestus watched quietly as Nyx walked past him uncaringly. She didn't seem to be bothered by his presence or just simply didn't take him into consideration. This angered the God of Fire as his fists were seen igniting with orangey red flame.

But before he could make a second move, black shadowy essence appeared out of the midst and coiled around his arms, seizing his ignited fists and extinguishing his godly flame. Paralyzed, Haphaestus could only watch startlingly as the dark smoky essence took the form of a tall young man. His face was hidden behind a layer of black fabric, only his cold-white eyes could be seen glaring sternly down at him. Strangely, Haphaestus couldn't feel any presence from him despite his dangerous glare and bizarre power. Who was this enigma?

"I advise you to hold back your attack." The mysterious man told him firmly. "Among us guardians, Nyx is the most scary when she gets angry."

Guardians? Haphaestus' mind instantly flashed to the reputed existence of the Four Guardians of Hell, the legendary protectors of the Dark Lord. Their existences were like a myth even to the Gods in Heaven due to their low-profiles. From what that was told, the hell guardians were often seen together. They were believed to be extremely powerful, the masters of torture and pain; a nightmare to the dead. With them, it was no wonder Hell remained invisible despite the absent of its King for a thousand years.

--

"_Nyx, the Goddess of the Night is one of the Four Guardians of Hell. Rumour has it that she, along with her brother, Erebus, the God of Darkness, were raised to serve the Dark Lord as protectors. Her devotion and love for the King of Hell was the reason behind her fierce existence to guard Hell at all cause, and would rarely step out of the Hellgate unless there was an enemy intrusion. _

_Nyx is at her weakest during the day but was the most terrifying opponent at night. The Goddess of the Night can also used her control over time to change the time to night that further strengthened her power. It was believed that she held the ability to call upon carnivorous bats and long dead spirits to eradicate all who still pump blood through their veins. _

_She was devoted to death in all its aspect, and like the Dark Lord, she was able to make her opponents gape in fear, losing their focus to cast spell. Beware the fool that dared invade into Hell without the Dark Lord's consent for the Goddess of the Night would see all turned to ash. No doubt, her presence inspired fear into the hearts of many." – Story fact._

--

"Hey, Erebus!" Nyx spun around and eyed at her brother who was glaring down at Haphaestus. "Quit wasting your time on that weakling. I sensed Templar nearby… Come on!"

"Coming…" Erebus muttered a reply before glaring back at the paralyzed fire god. "Since you are the first living I interacted on earth, I'm letting you live, but don't disturb Eris."

He pointed at the red-headed guardian who got his glowing-red whips entangled against Cratus numerous flying spears. "Among us, he's the cruellest. A sadist boy who enjoys nothing better than to see a living thing dies under his hand. And if you are intending to hurt Artemis, I advise you to think twice since Moros is with him. Among us, the God of Shadow is the most destructive…"

"Whereas, darkness is the most deadly…" Erebus finished mysteriously.

He was seen slowly dispersing into smoke as he withdrew himself from the startled Haphaest, "Farewell for now, because the next time I see you… It'll be Hell."

Yes, Hell might earn the reputation of having the four most fearsome guardians, but so did Heaven had its defenders. They stood, just outside Nyx's Night Zone with a troop of heavenly army, waiting to aid their divinity generals. And the God of the Moon with his desperate desire to rescue his lover was about to fly right into them; into Heaven's trap.

--

* * *

--

_The Four Guardians of Hell and Hermes belong to Ash, illustrated by Wen-M and sold to Animarpg(dot)com._

Hi, Jiuge here. I'll be helping Ash to upload her story from now on. Yes, she had the ending for this story plotted out. No spoilers though. And there won't be any update anytime soon; piling up with client projects.

Reviews are encouragement to motivate her to update. I see a lacking in reviews in the last chapter and it's kind of sad. Lots of effort is put in, so it will be nice to have reviews; comments, good or bad are appreciated but of course no vulgarity, I hate it more than she does. So, don't get lazy. Spare a minute to submit a review. We appreciate it :)!


	31. Heaven Confinement, Hell Salvage

**Heaven Confinement, Hell Salvage**

"Artemis!"

Minako extended her hand out as she tried to reach for her lover who was catching up behind them. Apollo was bringing her higher and higher into the night sky, but despite his swiftness, Yaten still managed to keep up with the chase. The God of the Moon wasn't ready and couldn't afford to lose his love. He got to catch hold onto Apollo before he flew out of Nyx's night zone, leading to his disadvantage. Drawing his energy from the moon, Yaten fastened his pace and reached out his hand to hers.

"VENUS!"

The tips of their fingers grazed and using the final thrust of speed, Yaten threw himself forward as he quickly delivered a strong punch, hitting Apollo in the face and sending him back by a bit. Minako couldn't help but crack a smile when Yaten slipped his hand into hers, and his fingers instantly enclosed around her little ones. He was grinning by the time he pulled her over and locked her into a tight embrace.

"Artemis! Artemis! Artemis…!" Minako cried his name out repeatedly, her heart thumping in a rapid rate. She smiled widely, sniffing away the last of her tears before she wrapped her arms tightly around him, trying to make sure he wasn't an illusion.

"I'm here… Venus… I'm here…" Yaten comforted, pulling back by a little to press his lips on the top of her head, hoping to ease her tears. Almost immediately, he held her tightly back against his chest upon noticing the descent of the moon as the sky began to brighten up with the rise of the early sun; an indication to the end of Nyx's night zone.

With the moon now gone, Yaten quickened his pace in the desperation to make it back down on earth before his moonlit wings die on him. But strangely, he couldn't escape the cloudy setting or see a landing to the earth no matter how long or quick he flew.

What was happening here?

The clouds around him seem to have gotten thicker, blocking his vision with the essence of whiteness. The fog was so dense that it obstructed his view in all direction, even Minako who he was hugging dearly to was vague in his vision. The blindness frightened him as he pressed Minako closer into his chest. He apprehensively flew about, finding it difficult to locate or sense Apollo's whereabouts due to the mystical fog hindrance. It was clear that the Sun God was still chasing them, but why hadn't he attack?

Weird. Yaten stopped his flight, allowing the back of his moonlit wings to die down. And to his surprise, he didn't fall. Instead, his feet touched a hard ground as the mystical mist slowly dispersed along with the warmth in his embrace.

"Venus…"

Yaten could feel his heart thumped, his eyes enlarged with grief and disbelief at the slow, bizarre disappearance of the 'Minako' in his arms.

"No… No! Don't go! Venus!" Yaten cried, frantically tightening his hold but his arms wrapped around the air and nothing else.

Stunned, he could only stare at the cloudy essence of Minako that was progressively dispersing in his arms and was completely caught off-guard when a unit of holy poles emerged from all direction, creating a formation of an immense cage, literally locking Yaten inside.

Yaten's face shot up, finally realizing the imprisonment he was trapped in. The blinding white mist gradually lessened, giving way to the eight heaven defenders that had formed a border around the cage.

"Welcome back to Heaven, God of the Moon, Artemis." The godly leader of the following defenders spoke.

"Helios!" Yaten clutched his hands into fists at the appearance of the God of Great Defence. His attempt to activate Soul Fire was hindered by the holy incarceration cage that placed a silence to all magical skills and spells cast, making the confinement indestructible.

The familiar, refreshing green setting of divinity sent a clear message that he was indeed back in Heaven. He didn't bother to know how or when he had flown passed the Heaven's Gate. He didn't exactly care about anything else besides the well-being of Minako. "Venus… What have you done to Venus? Where is she?!"

"She's with me…" The divinity defenders made way for their two respective generals, one of them being the God of the Sun, Apollo who was carrying a beautiful golden goddess in his arms. The other appeared to be a quiet, cool-looking boy with short, dark blonde hair. He didn't seem to be interested in all that was happening as he eyed dully at Yaten.

"Venus!" Yaten called out to his lover in vain.

His hands grabbed the holy bars of imprisonment as he tried to break the cage using his brutal strength even though it dealed terrible burning damage to his palms.

"Artemis…" Minako murmured as she shed a tear of agony.

To witness Yaten hurting himself inflicted a terrible pain to her heart and soul, causing her to lose her remaining strength to struggle. A part of her had already given up on the idea to oppose as she laid motionlessly in Apollo's arms, eyeing excruciatingly at Yaten while he gazed agonizingly back at her.

"Give… Give Venus back!" Yaten cried, reaching his hand out of the cage in an useless attempt to stop his Nemesis from taking his lover away from him.

Apollo's eyes sharpened with anger at his brother's call, "Give her back to you? Venus is originally my wife! You are the one who stole her away from me, and a thousand years I have to wait just to get her back…!"

"Venus is not yours!" Yaten opposed firmly. "Can't you see that she was never in love with you? Not a thousand years ago, not now! Why can't you just understand that you will never have her heart?!"

"Then, I'll have her body."

His brother's outrageous response had Yaten widening his eyes in dismay, making Apollo smirked at his panicked expression.

"You never change one bit, Artemis. I wonder what Venus and the Dark Lord sees in you. Your kind nature, maybe? But, don't they understand that sympathetic is just plain stupidity? A thousand years ago, I overthrown your divinity status partly because I wanted to teach you a valuable lesson that you shouldn't be too kind to your enemy, but it seemed like you haven't learn… What a naïve and adorable twin I have… You really make me laugh at your innocence, Artemis." He chuckled lightly, shaking his head in disbelief at their difference in characteristics. "Once again, you are too simple-minded. So what if I can't have Venus's heart now? I can always make her love me after I bed her…"

"APOLLO! YOU BASTARD! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH VENUS!" Yaten yelled, his bare hands clutching tightly onto the locks in hope to break them.

After hearing Apollo's declaration, the burning pain done to his hands were nothing compared to his desperation to save Minako. He would never permit anyone to hurt or take her away from him. But he had lost all his power and strength due to the cage compelling restriction. It was Helios, the God of Great Defenc, most powerful holy lock of confinement, an inescapable barricade, created to captive all god-like or demonic beings. Once locked in, all godly ability and power instantly dropped to none. No doubt, it had lived up to its name as the perfect imprisonment.

"Stop wasting your effort, Artemis. Even I, as one of Heaven's most powerful generals, couldn't break through Helios' lock... What makes you think an abandoned god like you could?" Apollo smirked ignoring Yaten's protest as he turned away; ready to return back to his realm with his new caught 'lover'.

"Should we kill him?" The other young distinctive general asked in a mono-tone.

"Ares plans to use him to lure the Dark Lord." Apollo answered uncaringly. "So, for the time being just leave him there."

"You can leave the guarding to us, Aether, Apollo..." Helios stated as the seven other defenders bowed before the two leaving generals.

"Don't go! Venus!" Yaten yelled, his eyes locked onto Minako's.

He saw her lips moved as she murmured something to him. Even though her message was inaudible to him, he knew that it was a clear message of farewell.

Overwhelmed by agony, Yaten could feel his knees weakening as they gave way to the cold ground. He remained kneeling there, clutching onto his throbbing head, not wanting to accept this lost. Yet again, it had left him feeling powerless and helpless just like a thousand years ago. Why? Why was he so weak? Why couldn't he protect the only girl he loved? He was left with all these crushing emotions and pressure as his whole world was flipped upside down before his own eyes. How was he supposed to handle this situation?

"What are you doing inside a birdcage, Artemis?"

Yaten's face shot up at the familiar voice. His eyes widened another time in complete surprise at the gentleman smiling down at him.

"Moros?!"

All the defenders were stunned silent by the sudden appearance of a strange intruder dressed in a full grey-hooded cloak. Underneath the hook, only his bright brown eyes and a little side of his face was shown. Who was this person? They sensed a weird presence coming from him but couldn't distinguish whether he was a foe or an ally. They held their attack, waiting for the stranger to reveal his true identity to them, but it seemed like he wasn't paying any attention to their existence as he crouched down besides Yaten.

"By the way, do you know where we are?" Moros asked Yaten with a grin, not getting the whole situation or the fact that he had unconsciously flew past the Heaven's Gate while pursuing Yaten.

"Strange. Ever since I got here, I lost quite an amount of energy. Oh! And are they your friends?" Moros inquired, pointing at the eight defenders.

"It's pretty obvious that they are not my friends!" Yaten shouted. "They are heaven's defenders!"

"Guardians of Heaven? What are they doing here?" Moros asked in bewilderment, still unable to distinguish the entire situation.

"Do I seriously have to make it so clear to you that we are currently trapped in Heaven?!" Yaten half-yelled.

"Heaven? Is it the dimension located high above earth? I see... So, this is the place where by all the divinity gods and beings reside right? Hmmm… With all this holy presence, no wonder there is a drop in my dark energy." Moros concluded with a smile, surprisingly calm about the whole matters despite knowing they were currently trapped in the enemy base and were in a disadvantage.

"Moros! Listen to me… I've got to rescue Venus from Apollo! You got to get me out of this barricade! Quick!" Yaten urged firmly.

"Sure." Moros grinned, willing to assist his comrade.

But, to Yaten's surprise, Moros just stood up and approached the eight defenders with a smile. He held his hand out to Helios, offering him with a hand shake. "It's my pleasure to meet you, living gods. You see, all those in Hell are dreadful souls of the dead… So, I couldn't possibly make friends with my dinner."

Stunned by his words, Helios backed away finally realizing that he wasn't an ally of Heaven. Earlier, he wasn't able to distinguish his identity as their enemy because of his strange but identical presence as a godly being. But now, meeting him in a closer distance, he could immediately tell that Moros wasn't any holy gods from Heaven. With such dark aura evolving around him, it was no doubt he was an associate with the Dark Lord. But from his appearance and presence, he was definitely not one of the five generals of Hell.

Then, who was he?

"I'm Moros, one of the four guardians of Hell." Moros replied with a smile, as though he was able to read the minds of the defenders.

"What?! The Guardian of Hell?"

All the defenders took another step back, stunned by the Moros' true identity. It couldn't be true, could it? One of the legendary guardians of Hell had successfully invaded into Heaven's territory? How did he manage to do it without alerting them, the noteworthy protectors of Heaven?

However, all these questions were shoved aside as the defenders launched their first assault at Moros, ganging him with all sort of magical and physical attacks. The combination offence dealt a direct hit and it was clearly unavoidable even to the powerful Hell's guardian.

"MOROS!" Yaten cried as he watched his comrade get crushed by the many defenders.

Then, in the next second, everything ended with a lifeless Moros lying on a pool of fresh blood, supposedly dead.

Yaten shook his head, not wanting to believe his friend's death.

Lie!

It had to be some sort of a cruel joke!

This couldn't be right. Wasn't he the God of Shadow and Destruction? He was not supposed to die that easily. But there he laid, dead silence for the next few minutes without any sight of life.

Helios smirked when he noticed a translucent soul levitated out of Moros' body. But he soon dropped his mouth when his corpse slowly dispersed into dust as more dark souls flew out out and attacked the defenders.

Distracted, Helios was caught off-guard when someone attacked him from behind. He froze, feeling a sharp blade targeted near his neck. Glancing down at the long, purple sword, his eyes followed the shadowy blade to the familiar hand of the assaulter standing behind him.

"As I've expected, you aren't dead…" Yaten muttered in relief.

He couldn't help but grinned while the rest of the defenders took a step back at the sight of Moros holding his sword against Helios' neck. They couldn't attack, not with their section leader being held as hostage and not with the offensive shadows interference.

"But I sacrificed a shadow dummy…" Moros sighed, his eyes hardening to a deathly glare as he looked sternly back down at Helios. "Do you know how many souls I have to consume just to create one? How are you intending to repay my loss, my little prey?"

"What you are doing now is a suicidal act." Helios commented, ignoring Moros' question. "You should know it better than I do. A Hell god can never survive in Heaven's territory. Besides, it's useless to kill me, as long as my soul stays here, I can always reincarnate. Why don't you just surrender yourself to us?"

Much to everyone's surprise, Moros simply laughed at Helios' statement. "Me? Surrender? You are really a funny guy. I guess Heaven is not as dull as Nyx proclaimed after all."

Next, he drew his weapon closer to Helios' neck, whispering sternly. "Yes, the filthy presence here may have disabled most of my powers, but, that only increase my appetite further. And, let me tell you another thing. My power isn't limited to just 'Shadow' alone. The Dark Lord created me with another purpose… And, that's to be the Soul Eater. I feed on souls and possess their powers. You are no exception!"

Without a warning, the violet sword was seen piercing through Helios' body and into his soul. It was then drawn out along with a holy spirit trapped within its blade as Moros smirked at the sight of his delicious feast.

"Itadakimasu…"

* * *

A small whimper left Minako's lips upon Apollo's release, causing her to crash onto the bed of the room he had brought her to. Without hesitation, he closed in and pinned her beneath him, as he examined her frightened face with a satisfied smile. Minako bit her lip, pressing herself against the bed. She was more terrified now since she knew there was no escape. There was no way she can get out of here when he was practically on top of her. The only thing she could do at that moment was to hold back her tears, not wanting to seem as frightened and feeble as she was. But, no matter how hard she tried, the expression projected didn't come close to anything relatively tough looking. She just got herself to look even more vulnerable than before.

Apollo chuckled at her fright and leaned closer down towards her. Minako struggled and turned her face away trying to avoid his eyes, but her efforts went to waste. He simply moved closer until his knees were pressing against her thighs, too close for her comfort. Minako wanted to move away so that his body wasn't making contact with hers, but with her body pinned firmly onto the bed, there wasn't anyway or anywhere she could retreat to.

His eyes ran over her, scrutinizing her several times, admiring her as if she was a price he had just won before he leaned forward and kissed her cheek. Minako gasped and tried shuddering away but to no avail. He had her securely in his seize and she was literally trapped with no way to escape. She let out a soft scream of resistance when she felt Apollo ripping the bottom of her outfit.

He took her open mouth as an invitation to kiss her. His mouth covered hers before she could even figure out what was going to happen. Her eyes widened further as she shrieked, but because he was still forcibly kissing her, her scream came out muffled and soft. She squirmed around and tried with all her might to break the kiss, but his hands held her in place. Her hands positioned themselves on his chest, and she shoved with every ounce of her strength she had. But, it was like pushing a mountain. She was making no progress.

She felt her heart speeding up with the lack of oxygen as she frantically pushed harder against him, desperate for air and eager to stop the repulsive kiss. Feeling the pleasure of satisfaction, Apollo withdrew himself, but she didn't feel a bit better after his lips were no longer touching hers. She felt sick inside, ready to throw up. Her lips tasted foul, and her lips ached. His kisses weren't anything like Yaten's warm and gentle ones. They were cold and harsh, but most of all unwanted. Apollo left her feeling dirty and deeply ashamed.

Minako wasn't able to contain a single tear now. The fact that someone she didn't like was kissing her without her consent bothered her, but that wasn't what she felt troubled the most. She couldn't find anything in herself to face Yaten now after such harassment, though she knew that the chance of them meeting again was practically near zero. Clearly, they were both captured as a set-up to force the Dark Lord to return the Maiden of the Light to Heaven. Therefore, Minako knew it was over for them. Unless Seiya was willing to trade Usagi, if not, there was no way they could ever meet again.

The more she thought about it, the more heart throbbing it got. But her train of thoughts were interrupted when Apollo grabbed onto her chin and abruptly shoved her face so she was looking at him. "What's wrong my beautiful Venus? Do I not kiss as well as your precious Artemis?"

"S-stop please…" Minako pleaded in a soft voice due to her sobbing.

"Stop? And, why should I?" His smile slid down into a hostile frown, angered by her rejection. "I've waited a thousand years just for this moment. And you expect me to stop? Listen up, Venus! There's nothing in this world that I can't achieve! And this time, I am the one who will hold the victory! Not Artemis! So, whether you love me or not, I'll make you mine!"

Her eyes shot up with terror as an opposing scream escaped her mouth when she felt Apollo stroking her thighs, letting his hands wandered as he violently shoved her one-piece dress up so that her lower body and stomach could be shown to him. Minako desperately tried fixing her skirt back down but Apollo simply locked her wrists with his left hand tightly, not allowing her to resist further as he brushed his fingers across her smooth stomach.

Then, Apollo froze upon realizing a strange presence coming from the internal of her abdomen; it was small but distinctive.

His eyes shot up to Minako's, "Yo-You are pregnant…?"

Minako bit her lips and looked away without replying to his question. But even without words, her honest expression and hinting silence gave the answer away. She had kept her pregnancy as a secret from everyone even Yaten for she didn't want to worry anyone further. Adding to the war was the disappearance of Seiya and Usagi, so she definitely didn't want to add anymore burden on her comrades. If they were in any other situation, she would be more than delighted to be pregnant with Yaten's child, but she couldn't be happy now, or even all right, when she couldn't even be sure that her child would even take its first breath. Definitely, she didn't want to have a child not until the war was over, but she couldn't guarantee that, nor could Yaten. Despite so, she loved the little life evolving in her and was determined to keep it safe, after all it was their first child, hers and Yaten's.

Apollo's eyes of shock soon turned into an angry glare. Furious, he wrapped his fingers around her hairs, forcefully pulling her upwards until she was facing him. He glowered at her for what seemed like eternity before he spoke in the most vicious tone she had ever heard.

"It's Artemis' child, isn't it?!" He snarled malevolently, glaring down at her abdomen with the desire to crush the small, godly existence evolving inside it.

The proud Sun God couldn't accept it, and Heaven definitely couldn't afford the birth of another respective God of Hell. There was no way he was allowing this illegitimate child to be born into the world. Minako was meant to be his! And, she shouldn't be allowed to carry any other man's child but his!

"An illegitimate child like this should never exist!"

Without a warning, his hand liberated itself from her tangled hair, and the moment she fell back onto the bed, he pressed his palm firmly against her stomach with the cruel intention to kill the child inside her.

Minako's eyes shot wide open at the feel of Apollo's hand heating up as he gradually channelled a fatal spell into her abdomen. At this point, she was already sobbing and shrieking pleads hysterically, trying to push him away but his grip against her stomach didn't loosen. "No… No! I don't want to lose my baby… Please! Don't!"

Apollo seemed to be ignoring all of her resisting, tightening his grip against Minako's belly as his eyes protrude the fury to destroy the existence inside. Desperate to protect her child, Minako kicked frantically, trying an attack but it turned out doing her more harm than him. Against the strong Apollo, her athletic skills were limited even with her defensive training. There was only so much she could do to try to delay him from killing her child. She did what she could think of and could only pray for a miracle to happen or her prince to appear, saving both her and their child but from the look of it, her desire would most likely be left unfulfilled.

The only child she'd ever have was going to be taken away from her, wasn't it? Minako shook her head again and squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn't bring herself to believe that she was going to lose her one and only child. But even with her eyes shut, the cruel reality was still clearly visible, swallowing her in whole.

Then, for an unknown reason, she couldn't feel the pain or pressure against her abdomen anymore. Was it the after effect of being overly traumatized? Or it was because she was simply numbed already? Strangely, a painful groan from Apollo was transmitted into her ears as she felt his disturbing presence drifting away. Starting to believe that she was going crazy from devastation, she lifted her eyelids.

Before her, she caught a glimpse of a pair of light emerald eyes peering worriedly down at her. Her eyes instantly widened and her jaw dropped by an inch at the unbelievable sight of her lover reaching for her shoulders. He simply pulled her up and drew her into his arms, not even giving her a second to clarify the situation or call out his name.

This wasn't her imagination was it? Or was he another one of the illusions coming to rescue her? But, his warmth was definitely not imaginary, nor was his breathe against her neck.

"Artemis…" Minako whispered his name quietly, convincing that this Yaten had to be real. She would have hugged him back if his arms hadn't locked hers at her sides.

"It's alright… I finally have you with me now…" Yaten murmured, calming her as well as himself down.

He tightened his hold, trying earnestly to convince himself that she was not going to disappear this time round. Word can never describe the pressuring agony he felt when she was taken away from him right before his very eyes. If Moros hadn't appeared and consumed Helios' soul, he would most probably still be caged up, locked away from ever getting the opportunity to save her and his very own child; he had overheard everything through Apollo's angry yell and Minako's loud protest.

"I'm sorry… I almost let him hurt you and our baby… I'm really sorry." Yaten breathed apologetically, making Minako gasped at his apology.

Her eyes doubled in shock and she opened her mouth, making an attempt to question him but she couldn't speak. He simply continued hugging her, ignoring the fighting crashes and bangs created by the duel between Moros and Apollo.

Obviously, to hurt Apollo plainly by his fists wasn't enough to lighten Yaten's fury. But for now, cheering Minako up was more important to him than seeking vengeance against his brother. At a time like this, he knew how much she needed him by her side, and the last thing he would want to do was to leave her unattended.

"I swear that as long as I am here, I will never let anything happen to you and our baby…" Yaten murmured.

"Yo-You really want to keep the baby? You're not angry?" Minako finally finding her voice muttered anxiously.

"Don't be silly… How could I be angry? This is OUR child…" Yaten placed his hand over her belly and chuckled. "I can't believe it. We are going to be parents! Our child is inside you!"

"But, I'm scared, Artemis. This isn't a good time for a child… What if Dark-sama finds out and didn't want it? Or what if we couldn't get out of here? What are we going to do then?" Minako questioned in a state of panic and fluster.

"Venus, calm down… Seiya may seem harsh, but he isn't totally heartless. Think about it, our child will be Hell's first birth… There is no way he won't accept it. And don't worry, we'll definitely find a way to get you and the baby back home safely." Yaten consoled gently, easing Minako's heart by a little.

"Congratulations Artemis, Venus!" Moros' cut in, sounding pretty delighted. "I can't wait to spread the news! I'm sure everyone including our lord will be excited by it! Have you thought of a name for your baby yet?"

The couple just stared back at Moros wordlessly, each waiting for the other to answer his question. Honestly, it was a little too early to decide a name for their child. Despite so, Minako had secretly thought through a couple of names, eliminating them to two of her favourites. Namely, _Cupid,_ if it turns out to be a a boy, or _Harmonia,_ if it's a girl.

Suddenly, a loud, thunderous explosive blast coming from the outside brought the couple attention away from Moros as they glanced wildly around the room, finally realizing that Apollo was no where in sight.

"Where's that bastard ?!" Yaten asked with anger dancing in his eyes.

"Outside... With a bunch of his other holy god friends..." Moros answered, smiling down at Yaten who was clutching his fist, clearly not feeling please to know that Apollo had escaped to his reinforcement outside.

Minako latched herself onto Yaten worriedly, taking in the overpowering presence of countless holy gods awaiting them in the open. She couldn't bring herself to imagine the number of enemies that was surrounding them currently or what terrible fate they might end up in. She wasn't concerned about her safety; as long as they promise not to hurt her lover and child, they could do whatever they want with her.

Feeling Minako's worries, Yaten stroked her back as he held her tightly against his chest. He was feeling as stress up as she was right now, desperately trying to come up with a plan to get Minako safely out of Heaven. But, with an infinity enemies gathered outside, even the brilliant Taiki or the wise Mercury may have difficulties coming up with a good plot. He knew they couldn't stay in the interior forever, but charging out will be suicidal. In heaven, the power and strength of any divine gods are three times stronger than theirs. Alternatively, the three of them being the gods of the underworld were three times weaker just by being here. In conclusion, they were not only overly outnumbered but greatly overpowered and were in a total disadvantage.

Though Moros had consumed Helios' spirit, giving him the advantage to use his defensive power to block out most of the divinity gods, he had pretty much used up most of Helios' energy on their tedious journey to save Minako. At knowledge to this, Moros knew that it won't take the divinity gods very long to break the holy barriers by which he had previously set up to delay any assaults in.

"Are you prepared to fight till your death?" Moros asked Yaten in a half-teasing voice.

Yaten didn't response. He just continued to stroke Minako, ignoring all the loud attacks against the defensive barriers outside. Death really wasn't what scared him most. What sent shivers down his spine was the thought about afterwards. Not his own afterlife, but Minako's life after his soul was seized by Heaven.

Who would protect her when he wasn't alive anymore?

He slowly inched his face closer to hers, not bearing to think about her having to suffer. His mind was already conjured with images of Minako enduring Heaven's wrath, and the worst part was that no matter how many times she cried his name, he couldn't help her because he'd already be dead. He shivered, shoving those pictures away from his head as he tried to convince himself that none of this was going to happen, but it wasn't working. Being so clear about their current situation, he found it difficult to even consider a happy ending to this ordeal.

"As far as the rules goes…" Moros, believing that Yaten had just shivered out of fear for his life, stated in a sudden serious tone. "As the Dark Lord's hierarchy of gods, we are only permit to seek our death in Hell. Not Heaven or anywhere else… We aren't allowed to die without the Dark Lord's consent, so dying is never an option. We can't die. It's only our duty to live till our lord ends it…"

Both Yaten and Minako gazed startlingly at Moros, surprised by his abrupt change in behaviour. Among the four guardians, Moros was known as the most carefree and easy-going, one that hardly complain or voice his objection against any matters. Hence, to see his sternness was something amazingly new to the couple. Yaten smiled as he shook his head, laughing at himself for his unnecessary worries.

"Yes, you are right. Our death should never happen anywhere outside of Hell. I'm sorry… I got carried away and overlooked my promise with Seiya." He slowly turned his head back so he was facing Minako. "Don't worry. I'll be alive alright so I could protect you and our child…"

Minako looked into his eyes and instantly felt her fears go to the other end of the world. What was there to fear if Yaten was beside her, after all? She could doubt her own capabilities, but she could never second-guess his. He'd be a magnificent husband as well as father, whether they had a son or daughter. In regard to these thoughts, she instantly recalled something important as she squeezed Yaten's hand with a deep flush.

"Um… Artemis… About the proposal earlier… I-I hope it still isn't too late to give my answer…" Minako swallowed blushingly as she glimpsed at Yaten widening his eyes as a reaction to his anticipation.

"I-I-I do…" Minako shot out quickly, her face growing redder than before.

She looked downwards in embarrassment, not paying attention to the big smile imprinted on Yaten's face. The next thing she knew, he had already taken her left hand into his as he gently slipped the Moon ring onto her finger. Minako blinked, grinning wide enough to make the corners of her mouth ache. Yaten then placed his hand behind her head, pulling her towards him. She laid her head on his shoulder, overjoyed.

"Congratulations to the both of you, once again…!" Moros clapped, gazing at the blissful sight before him.

Then, an awfully loud bang interrupted them. All three turned their attention back to the entrance, noticing that their enemies had broke down the second barrier along with the walls of the room, giving everyone on the outside a clear view of the interior. Yaten exchanged glares with the surrounding armies as he tightened his hold around Minako, fearing that his enemies would steal her away from him once more.

In the front line stood the four divinity generals of heaven including Apollo who was staring fiercely at the embracing couple, totally displeased by their public display of affection. While Ares and Aether showed little interest, the rest of the generals and major defenders were more than just curious as they peered intensely at Moros, trying to figure out who he was.

"You called me here just for these three rats?" Ares scowled at Apollo. "Didn't I tell you never to bother me with trivial matters that don't involve the Dark Lord?"

"We'll need them if we want to meet the Dark Lord." Apollo answered simply, ignoring his leader arrogance.

"Whatever. You don't need me to down this last barrier for you." Ares yawned and turned away. "Don't bother me unless the Dark Lord is located…"

"By any chance, you were once the true owner of my left eye?" Moros inquired Ares openly, stunning everyone with his question.

That caught Ares' attention as he turned his focus back to Moros, glaring at him intensely. Moros, on the other hand, grinned pleasantly, pushing his long black bangs away from his eyes with intention to present his dark red, left orb.

"You…! Th-that's my...! " Ares startled, his hand instinctively flew to his eye that was left marked with a horrible scar by the Dark Lord.

"Yes, I was created with it…" Moros smiled as he remained surprisingly calm to the raising commotion that he had created.

"He's also the one who stole Helios' soul!" One of the female defender asserted aloud.

"I didn't steal his soul, I just consume it…" Moros corrected casually.

"Enough! I don't care who you are!" Ares yelled drawing out his huge sword. "I'm claiming my left eye back!"

"Wait. Calm down, Ares." Aether held Ares back by the shoulder. "Be careful. If the myth about the destructive God of Shadow was true, I wonder what will happen after we broke through the last barrier…"

"_Moros, the God of Shadow was one of the four guardians of Hell. It was believed that he was a terrifying spirit created by the Dark Lord through uniting a thousand souls of the warriors who fell during the War with Heaven a Millennium ago. Faithfully loyal to his King, Moros inhabited Hell with never-ending thirst for souls, consuming the essences of the enemies he slaid, and the death moan of his victims was what he enjoyed most. _

_With the ability to manipulate the power of the souls he had consumed, it was rarely necessary for Moros to show his true ability. According to rumour, it was said that he was the most dangerous existence and guardian ever created by the Dark Lord. Because, not only was Moros a creature of the shadow that devoured the souls of those around him, he was capable of manipulating both void and shadow in combat. He augmented his shadow power with the amount of souls he consumed, bearing down on his enemies with both spiritually enhanced attacks and powerful spiritual blasts. However, his greatest pleasure was to release the oblivion within him upon the world, creating an abyss that draws enemies even closer to destruction._

_He was indeed a nightmare in his worst, a true living terror behind a friendly mask, the God of Shadow, Moros." – Story Fact/Myth._

"The myth is an exaggeration…" Yaten commented with a sigh. "If Moros is really as destructive as what it claimed, we would have left long ago…"

"Haha! Ya! I'm exceptionally weak at holy places like this…" Moros chuckled with a nod, agreeing with Yaten. "But…"

He extended his left hand, presenting an object that took the shape of a dry, white human skull. Subsequently, most of the Heavenly warriors took a step back, intimidated by the unknown purpose of the strange item. Was it a massacre weapon? What sort of scheme or intention was he planning?

Then, to everyone's surprise, the skull dropped its jaw as a ringing scream was heard clanging loudly before a red switch jut out from its top, as if it was meant for someone to push it.

Moros grinned at everyone's startled facial expressions. "The worse is finally here…"

"Will you answer it already?!" Yaten shouted as he covered Minako's ears with both hands, protecting her from the irritating loud rings.

Moros let out an unexpected sigh as he reluctantly pressed the button. Immediately, the ringing noise was replaced by a fierce, angry demand. "Moros! Where the hell are you?!"

"Nyx?" Yaten and Minako finding the voice familiar muttered together while the enemies remained silent, taken aback by the sudden change of event.

"Heaven." Moros answered simply, staring at the skull with a grin.

"Heaven?! What the hell are you doing there?! Didn't I tell you to follow Artemis and ask for my keys back?!" The skull's mouth widened another time as it continued to act as a communication device.

"Yes…! The keys! I remembered now…!" Moros turned back and faced Yaten, ignoring Nyx's continuous scolding through the skull.

In response, Yaten reached for his side pocket, withdrawing a set of black antique keys and tossed it over to Moros.

"Yup! Your keys are safe with me..." Moros informed. "But, I reckon you come over personally and retrieve them from me…"

"What?! You expect me to go over to such filthy place?! Have you lost your mind?!" Nyx practically screamed.

"But… But, we are currently surrounded by a mass of strange beings that wanted to enslave our souls… It's so tiring just by being here…" Moros explained with an act of exhaustion. "Furthermore, Venus is pregnant and Artemis just proposed…"

"WHAT?! PROPOSAL?! VENUS PREGNANT?!" Nyx interrupted aloud. She dropped the 'communication skull' due to shock and it hit the earth hard causing the device to go off.

"Connection lost." Moros facing Yaten and Minako with a smile announced. "There goes our only hope…"

"Can you please don't emphasize our despair with such a calm expression?" Yaten muttered in irritation.

"Your show time is OVER!" Ares declared aloud as he and the rest of divinity gods broke through the last barrier.

Yaten quickly moved Minako to his other side, keeping himself between her and the charging enemies. Using all his remaining power, he manipulated his soul flame into a bow and released a hundred of flaming white arrows all at once, hindering the opponents' attacks.

"Convene! Pit of Infinity Shadow!"

A low murmured was heard before the area within Moros' radius progressively darkened, as if consumed by cast of shadows. The darkness continued to spread around him, preventing any enemies from closing in at them.

The generals ordered the troops to retreat, knowing perfectly well that the dark zone around Moros was his destructive territory; once trapped inside, any existences beside his associates will get swallowed by his dangerous shadow of collision. It was the God of Shadow final power of defence, the Pit of Infinity Shadow was his ultimate ability that trapped defiance souls for eternity, yet despite this, it was currently used as a defensive obstruction rather than a prison.

Soon, the shadow barrier finished with various statue tombstones forming around it, securing and locking the three wanted Hell Gods in. For the time being, they were safely concealed behind the shadow and the divinity gods could do nothing to break the untouchable imprisonment.

Nevertheless, it wasn't possible for them to be trap imprisoned forever, was it?

* * *

"Please… Please don't bully Seiya…" Usagi pleaded as she wrapped her hands around Seiya's neck, hugging him protectively.

For a moment, there was only silent. All the remaining enemies, including Poseidon and his generals just stared at the attractive couple embracing each other as they stayed suspended in the air. Despite having to form a circle around the Dark Lord, none of them made an attempt to attack him. All eyes were set on the beautiful maiden whom Seiya was holding dearly onto. Clearly, Usagi had stolen the Dark Lord's limelight. She was the focal point to every men present, much to Seiya's displeased. Being a possessive lover he was, he badly wanted to blind all these lustful stares on his maiden. He definitely didn't like any men looking at Usagi like that, but with Usagi clinching tightly onto him, he couldn't bring himself to hurt anyone.

On the other hand, Usagi was totally oblivious to the enemies' fondness for her as she hesitantly shifted her head around, glancing at the surrounding men with her watery yet adorable pair of eyes.

"Why? Why is everyone acting so mean?" She sniffed and glimpsed at Poseidon. "Please don't pick on Seiya… Please don't be mean to him…"

Strangely, her words brought guilt into Poseidon and his heart thump for a bit. Yes, the maiden was right. Maybe he was really acting nasty. Ganging up on an unarmed man. He was truly being a bully, wasn't he? He should be ashamed of himself, shouldn't he?

No!

Wait a minute!

What was he thinking? It was the Dark Lord he was referring to here! The one and only opponent that he could never defeat! Forget about picking on him, it would be more than a bless if the Hell King didn't end up destroying them. Did the maiden seriously think that they are capable of bullying the legend strongest? Her oblivious only proved two things; either the maiden have not come to know how frightening powerful her lover actually was or she was simply just being bias. But, no matter the reason, Usagi could never allow the enemies to hurt Seiya in any ways. Fate had shown mercy by allowing their reunion and Usagi would do anything to protect their only chance of being together.

On the other hand, Seiya was feeling the flare of irritation. Firstly, he didn't enjoy having all the lustful stares on Usagi. Next, Poseidon's intention was unacceptable!

"I have little patience..." The Dark Lord stated sternly, drawing everyone's attention back to him. "Even though I am showing mercy today, Hell still awaits those foolish souls that dare steal my Light away…!"

Poseidon swallowed Seiya's words; surprised by his seriousness. From what he knew, the Dark Lord rarely shows his concern over any matters. He was way too powerful to be affected with issues like battles and way too popular to be bothered about girls (except for Usagi, of course.). Now that Poseidon knew about Seiya's only concern, he had all the intentions to continue with the assault. There was no reason to stop especially since he always wanted to the Dark Lord to fight him seriously.

"You have no right to blame me, Dark Lord. You are the one who took my wife initially… So, I am just doing the same..." Poseidon declared.

Seiya let out a soft sigh, "Are you seriously deaf or simply dumb? I've said a hundred times, I did not touch your wife and I will never have the interest to…"

He tightened his grasp against Usagi's slim waist before kissing her on the forehead, making her blush deeply at his public display of affection. "Let me make this very clear. This legendary beauty is MY Light. I take no interest in any other girls besides her…"

"But, Seiya... I am no beauty..." Usagi whispered while covering her reddish face out of embarrassment.

Seiya threw her a disbelieved look and there was a moment of startled silence. Taken in by the stillness, Usagi lowered her hands only to find Seiya giggling softly at her shyness and comment. While Usagi pouted, the surrounding enemies were shocked upon witnessing the Dark Lord's smile. They must be dreaming. The ruthless Hell King actually smiled?

"What so funny?" Usagi cocked her head slightly.

She didn't find anything humorous that will make her lover laugh like that, but she wasn't complaining for she did enjoy his rare smile.

"You are so adorable…" Seiya complimented between his giggles.

"No, I am not…" Usagi opposed in a soft voice, her face flushed a dark red.

Seiya placed his finger over her lips, silencing her though it made her blush even more.

"Shhh… I will seal your lips with mine if you continue to disagree with me…" Seiya smiled wryly deciding to tease her a bit more.

He adored the look of a blush on her face when she was embarrassed. He was attracted to her; he couldn't deny that. He thought she was beautiful; gorgeous beyond words, but her appearance wasn't the reason he loved her. Little did the maiden knew, the Dark Lord cherished her smile, he loved the way she put everyone before herself, he liked hearing her laugh, he found her timidity adorable, and he thought her personality was downright amazing. To him, she was the only pure white angel, something he never was or ever could be. Thus, the only thing he wanted to do was to please her and keep a smile blooming on her face.

Usagi covered her mouth with both her hands and obediently turned silent. She knew her lover was serious about kissing her publicly on the lips if she continued to oppose to his claims. She was not sure if she could handle herself flushing anymore. Usagi was certainly not the type of person who could handle public display of affection rationally and she couldn't understand why Seiya's expression never seemed to change at things that made her flushed. And to make matters worse, he seemed to find her reaction amusing.

The Dark Lord smiled contentedly at her obedience but found himself falling deeper into the maiden's love trap. For all he knew, maybe she wasn't just a pure angel, but also an alluring devil. She was literally drugging him with her innocence, and he couldn't help but fall deeper into the addiction. At this, he shook his head, finding it impossible to allow any other men to harm or have Usagi.

"My Lord, behind you!" Hermes alerted, watching the sea of enemies casting their attacks on the Dark Lord all at once. Immediately, he joined in the battle, attacking three of the opponents' generals and forbidding them to get near his King.

"Fun time over…" Hermes murmured seriously, scaring his enemies with the phenomenal decomposing of his flesh. Soon, besides his skeleton hands and eerie laughter only his glowing red eyes could be seen.

On the other hand, the God of the Sea wasted no time to host an attack at the Dark Lord who was busy protecting his maiden and slaying whatever that came into his vision. For a distance, Poseidon was seen manipulating the sea as he changed the waves into piercing, sharp shards. Immediately, he targeted the deadly surge at the suspended couple, intending to grab the Hell King's attention to him.

Usagi let out a soft scream, squeezing her eyes shut at the coming wave. She clinched tightly onto Seiya, hoping he will not get hurt by the outrageous attack. Then everything went by like a blur. And by the time she lifted her lids, the dangerous sea rush had already passed them.

Apparently, Usagi didn't know what had just happened.

"Seiya…?"

She raised her eyes to her lover, freezing instantly at the sight of him bleeding from the edge of his forehead. Her eyes widened out of shock and worries. For a second, she could only stare at the blood trickling down his forehead, streaming down his nose and cheeks, and finally dripping off his chin. A drop slipped off and hit her arm. Usagi glanced at the bead of his blood resting on her skin and started to panic.

"Blo-blood…? Seiya?! You are bleeding!" Usagi squealed.

To her surprise, he just smiled at her, his calm and cool eyes held no concern or pain over his injuries. He didn't even bother to check on the open wound. "It's nothing serious. Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Not bad. You managed to land a scratch on me. Maybe, I will reconsider to fight you seriously." Seiya smiled a grin of sarcasm at Poseidon, who was like the rest of his subordinates, shocked by his minor injury. This had the Lord of the Sea chuckling in joy but his following statement was harshly interrupted by Usagi.

"This isn't serious?! How can you say that?! You're hurt!" Usagi shrieked angrily at Seiya, shocking everyone with her sudden outburst.

The soft and serene maiden was actually shouting at the Dark Lord? What an unexpected scene. But little did anyone know, inside, the feelings of worry and concern had wrapped themselves into one emotion that the maiden hardly experienced; anger.

"Light, relax…"

"You are bleeding! How can I relax?!" Usagi half yelled, shutting Seiya up before he could even finish his sentence. "How could you take yourself so lightly?! I know! I know that you could have easily avoided or deflected the attack if it wasn't for me! It was because of me that you got hurt! Yet you expect me to remain calm about it?! Baka! Stop being so reckless! You'll make me worry for you!"

Her words had Seiya temporary dropping his aggressiveness. "I'm sorry, Light… I didn't think it was anything serious. I didn't mean to upset you."

Usagi's eyes flashed with their normal kindness at his apologies. She didn't mean to offend him, but she couldn't allow him to continue protecting her recklessly. She wanted to protect him, to assist him and to take care of him in any possible ways as well.

Yes, she wanted to prove that she could be of some help for once.

Using the edge of her sleeve, she pressed it against his forehead to stop the blood flow. Feeling the rage once in her dwindling away, her usual affectionate nature took over once again. "Does it hurt?"

"No." Seiya answered, smiling at her caring nature.

Then, he froze for a second; taken aback by the sudden comforting warmth acting upon his injury. To everyone's surprise, the moment Usagi withdrew her sleeve from Seiya's wound, the bleeding stopped and the cut seemed to have disappeared. All that was left was the feeling of relieve on the initial injured spot.

In regards of this, it didn't take everyone very long to realize that the maiden had just healed the Dark Lord with her holy light.

"Seiya…promise me... not to hurt yourself again…" Usagi muttered before she let the side of her face lie on his chest as she gradually shut her lids, allowing herself to doze off due to the infrequent use of her unique power.

Seiya smiled, watching her eyes close on him. He kissed her on top of her head lovingly, "This is the reason why I didn't like you to use your power…"

The Dark Lord, as protective as he was, disapproved the maiden to exploit any of her holy abilities, knowing that it always exhaust and draw unnecessary attention to her. As if the number of enemies craving to have this beautiful maiden as theirs weren't countless enough, there was no need for her to show why she was also known as the Heaven's Light.

Growing impatient and grabbing the opportunity to destroy without upsetting his lover, Seiya glared aggressively at Poseidon and announced. "Since I promised my Light that I will not allow anymore injuries, for the first time, I shall fight you seriously. So, don't bore me, Poseidon."

His declaration had the Lord of the Sea laughing in joy. Finally! Finally he achieved in making the Hell King fight him seriously! "Yes! Dark Lord! Bring it on! Summon the Doom-will! Fight me with the Doom-will!"

"Hermes, send the others to Hell." Seiya commanded with a smirk, temporary ignoring Poseidon's request.

"As you wish, My Lord." The Grimm Reaper obeyed as he exploited his vital power.

"Death Pact." As soon as the Grimm Reaper spoke those words, the earth cracked and limitless skeleton hands were seen bizarrely emerging from the soil, grabbing all enemies whose feet were on the land. Screams of agony and despair echoed as the death hands forcefully dragged the livings down, pulling them into the earth till they reached Hell itself.

All was petrified as they tried to flee themselves from the death pact, but what happened next brought most of the men down to their knees.

The clear blue sky was seen darkening as darkness dropped down. The black sea battled among itself; sending crashing waves. While the dark heaven started to roar thunderously, a fierce earthquake erupted as the sea split opened into two divisions.

Poseidon's eyes widened at the unbelievable aura emerging from the bottom of the earth.

"Let me introduce you to the Legendary Sword of the Underworld…" The Dark Lord smirked, raising his free hand as he summoned his ultimate power.

"DOOM-WILL!"

* * *

Yes, I've finally updated! I hope you guys haven't forgotten about me or this story. I know a lot of you dislike authors with slow updates, but do understand that I really couldn't find time to. Yes, I wanted to end it here so I could complete this story with 3 more chapters. Some of you wanted me to end this fast, while the other couldn't bear for it to end, but as you can predict, it's coming close to its finale. But still, I hope you readers enjoy this chap… Another update will be ages later, I predict…

Leave me a **Review**, alright?


	32. Dark and Light

--

_Last Chapter:_

"_Death Pact." As soon as the Grimm Reaper spoke those words, the earth cracked and limitless skeleton hands were seen bizarrely emerging from the soil, grabbing all enemies whose feet were on the land. Screams of agony and despair echoed as the death hands forcefully dragged the livings down, pulling them into the earth till they reached Hell itself._

_All was petrified as they tried to flee themselves from the death pact, but what happened next brought most of the men down to their knees._

_The clear blue sky was seen darkening as darkness dropped down. The black sea battled among itself; sending crashing waves. While the dark heaven started to roar thunderously, a fierce earthquake erupted as the sea split opened into two divisions._

_Poseidon's eyes widened at the unbelievable aura emerging from the bottom of the earth._

"_Let me introduce you to the Legendary Sword of the Underworld…" The Dark Lord smirked, raising his free hand as he summoned his ultimate power._

"_DOOM-WILL!"_

--

--

**Dark and Light**

--

In the pitch black dimension, all shades were drawn shut and Usagi soon realized that she was the only light upon the darkness.

"_Where am I?"_ Usagi thought silently while staring down at her glowing hands.

-Doom-

Her face instantly shot up at the sudden, impacting beat. She glanced around wildly, trying to locate the origin of the sound.

"_Return…"_

It was a familiar voice; a recognizable presence. Seiya? No, not exactly. It wasn't him, but someone or something associated to him. Usagi took a step forward and as she did, the beat grew louder.

-Doom!-

"_Return to me…" _

Surprisingly, neither the darkness nor the scary aura frightened her. She had no reason to. This place was her origin, this voice was once her associate and this presence was meant to be her fate. Despite the darkness, she knew where she was heading. The thumping noise did not stop; the intensity increasing along with the dominating presence.

-Doom!-

Usagi paused right below a medieval, double-edge greatsword. She gazed up at the powerful weapon. It had Hell Fire as its blade; burning red with a fierce essence of domination. With such dangerous, dark-red aura streaming out of its long grip, seizing it was not only impossible, but also a death penalty.

Doom-will was, without a doubt, legend strongest weapon.

She continued staring at the legendary sword that was calling her.

"_Return to me…"_

"_Return to me… My Lost Light…"_

For a brief moment, Usagi didn't budge or give a reply. She looked at the Doom-will with a glimpse of sadness lingering in her eyes. Then, her lips were finally seen moving.

"Sorry… I can no longer shine inside you…"

--

Usagi lifted her heavy eyelids, waking up in a large dim room that she didn't recognized. Still half-conscious, she stared at the expensive-looking lamp beside her that was left on. Everything in the large room looked fancy, pricey and elegant. The walls were covered with exclusive, silk screen-painting wallpapers, and the furniture looked vintage and majestic.

She sat upright on the massive bed, rubbing her eyes as she tried to figure out where she was. The room was pretty dim, but surprisingly, she wasn't feeling a bit uncomfortable despite the lack of light.

"Seiya?" Usagi murmured as she glanced around her surrounding in hope to spot her lover, but to her disappointment, he wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Seiya…? Seiya?"

She swung her legs off the bed and stood up, looking around the vast room hoping to find him somewhere. When he didn't appear despite her calls, Usagi began to panic. Her heart raced swiftly as wild and crazy thoughts started to evolve into her mind. The only thing she could recall was the intense battle between the Dark Lord and Poseidon. War? Yes, they were in a war. So, did those sea monsters kidnapped and jailed her up in this mysterious place? What about Seiya then? What did they do to him?

Then, a light knock coming from the door caught her by surprised. Usagi jerked and turned around frantically, expecting to face a big and scary-looking monster. But instead, she found herself staring at young lady by the doorway. The girl, she noticed, was very beautiful. She had long, wavy light pink hair that gave off a sense of femininity and she looked like a pretty little doll with those soft-blue eyes.

"So, you are the legendary Maiden of the Light?" the girl walked up to Usagi and asked.

Her eyes continued to scan through Usagi from head to toe, examining her with a slight hint of displease. "You are not really as beautiful as what the legend claims…"

"Wh-who are you? And where am I?" Usagi asked in a soft voice, ignoring her comments.

The girl shook her head and glared at Usagi for a second longer before replying, "What do you think? Dark-sama's domain, of course… and I am Diana, serving as one of Hell's Slayers…"

"Dark?! Seiya?! This is Seiya's room? Whi-which means...I'm in Hell?!" Usagi burst out of absolute surprise and joy, interrupting Diana unintentionally.

Her heart was beating with excitement. She finally made it to the Underworld! She finally gets to be reunited with her friends and stay with her lover.

"Seiya?! Where is Seiya?!" Usagi asked Diana eagerly.

"Seiya?" Diana lifted one of her brows up at Usagi's question.

Who was she referring to? The Dark Lord? How dare she address her king with such intimacy. She wasn't even half a general or guardian yet she get to reside in the Dark Lord's personal manor? Why would her king even favour such a slut?

"Apparently, our lord has no time for you. Do you not know that because of you, both Artemis-sama and Venus-sama are being held hostages in Heaven? So, our lord is now very busy with the generals…"

"What?! Yaten and Minako are being held captives?!" Usagi interrupted, grasping onto Diana's hand in shock. "How are they? They aren't hurt, are they?!"

"Take your hands off me!" Diana exclaimed as she flung Usagi's hands away, breaking the hold. "Find out yourself if you really want to know! Aren't you the all-great Maiden of the Light who can create miracles? Or your powers are just a fluke? Because, from what I see, you are nothing but a trouble to everyone especially Dark-sama!"

Usagi could feel her heart thump in pain as the words sank in. She didn't want to admit that she was a burden or the main cause for everything, but what Diana had said did sound logical. It's not like she couldn't create miracle, but if she was to use her power, it only meant that she'll be separated from Seiya, and she didn't want that, even if it meant that she couldn't do anything to save Yaten and Minako. She couldn't leave him right? Or maybe she should. After all, the Dark Lord might not need her now when he already had such a pretty lady living with him.

Her disturbing thoughts were interrupted by a sudden, scary presence that abruptly appeared from the back of Diana.

"I don't remember ever giving you the permission to be here, Diana!"

While Diana stiffened her stance up at the commanding voice, Usagi gasped at the all so familiar figure. Tears of joy were seen lingering at the edges of her eyes as she shoved her way passed Diana and flung herself onto him.

"Seiya! Seiya! I…I…"

She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing more than whimpers and sobs would come out. Her cries had Seiya temporary dropping his anger and ignoring Diana. He glanced at his maiden who was currently burying her face in his shirt, sobbing with such force that he winced in pain.

"What's wrong, Light?" Seiya asked; his voice full of solicitude. He stroke her hair reassuringly as Usagi continued to sob. It worried him for he had never actually felt her arms held onto him so tightly. It was shocking in a way, yet he was more consumed with concern. Nevertheless, he pressed her tightly against his chest, hoping this will somehow calm her down.

"What have you done to Light?!" Seiya glared angrily at his inferior who had her head bent low, frantically apologizing for her unauthorized intrusion.

"N-nothing… I did nothing, my Lord!" Diana squealed, trying to explain her innocence.

"Nothing?! You expect me to believe such lies?!" Seiya rose his voice furiously, making Diana shivered in terror.

Diana hadn't expected her king to be returning anytime soon but she should have known better than to intrude into his manor and anger him. And, from the looked of it, she knew there was no way that the Dark Lord was going to forgive her. She swallowed hard, preparing to receive the worse punishment ever.

But, a soft voice coming from Usagi saved her. "No, Seiya. She's not lying… It got nothing to do with her. It's just me… I… I'm sorry…"

Once again, Seiya dropped his fury as he gazed confusingly down at the maiden in his arms. "What are you apologizing for, Light?"

Usagi just shook her head, clinging tightly onto him as if she was experiencing her last moment with him.

Diana tried to swallow her disgust and blatant envy when she witnessed her king kissing Usagi gently on her forehead, in the attempt to ease her tears. It did, however, make Usagi blushed slightly. She was embarrassed, as usual, when she was around him.

Usagi's blush didn't really bother Diana. Which girl wouldn't be flushing or smiling at the Dark Lord's affection? At the very least, she knew she definitely would. What disturbed her was the fact that Seiya, the ruthless King of Hell, was actually smiling at the maiden's shyness. He even seemed happy and somewhat amused.

Diana couldn't figure out what the Dark Lord saw in the maiden. She hadn't even seen such smile on his face before. The Hell King she knew was always cold, ruthless and if not, emotionless.

And, as expected, the Dark Lord glared coldly at Diana, his finger directed to the door, "Leave! I never want to see you again!" He commanded in his usual dominant tone.

Diana flinched while feeling distressed by her king's words. But, at least, she was lucky enough to have escaped his wrath. The Dark Lord was being merciful today, but despite so, she knew she shouldn't have pushed her limits too far, even though she had built a relatively close relationship with the warm-hearted Michiru.

She apologized earnestly again, bowing a couple of times more before leaving the room anxiously.

After Diana was out of sight, Seiya lifted Usagi up in a bridal style, as he started down the room to the bed while ignoring Usagi's soft protest.

"Seiya, you don't have to carry me. I can walk myself…"

"Hai, hai." Seiya responded casually as he set her down gently on the edge of the large bed.

Usagi watched quietly as Seiya gracefully kneeled on one knee, his other foot planted onto the ground as he pressed his lips against the back of her left hand, like he was about to propose to her making Usagi blushed at his perfect posture.

"Tell me, Light. What's bothering you?" He asked with such concern in his voice that it was impossible for Usagi to remain silent over the issue.

"Seiya… I…" Usagi swallowed, avoiding his eyes. "I-I want to leave... I wish to return back to Heaven."

Seiya almost lost control of his grip against her hand at her abrupt request. He stared startlingly at her, but she didn't dare to look at him, not wanting to know what kind of expression was imprinted on his charming face.

"You are lying…" Seiya murmured, his voice rising steadily. He placed his hands onto her shoulders, shaking her gently, "Light, look at me! I know you are lying! Why…?!"

"I am not lying!" Usagi squeezed her eyes shut, her face away from him as she tried her hardest to hold back her tears.

She knew that if she was to cry, he will never be convinced. But, he got to let her go! He got to! Because, if he doesn't, she'll continue being a burden, and Yaten and Minako will remain trapped in heaven forever.

"Then why aren't you looking at me?" Seiya insisted. "You never said such things before… Why?! Is it something _she_ said to you?!"

"No! No! It's just me! I want to go back to Heaven… I don't want to stay here anymore!" Usagi shook her head frantically and attempted to stand up but was being held back down by Seiya, who apparently did not allow her to leave him this easily.

"Let go! Let go!" Usagi struggled to free her hands from his grasp but to no avail.

"No! Not till you tell me why…" Seiya remained firm, not giving her even a slightest chance to escape.

"I-I don't want to be with you anymore…! So, let me go!" Usagi squealed, choking on her own lies.

It was then when she felt herself being shoved onto the bed and the next thing she knew, Seiya was already on top of her with his body pressed against hers and his hands still locked onto her wrists. It was obviously clear now that there was no escape. But, she needed to get out of here; she needed to submit herself to heaven so she could save her friends. She was sick and tired of knowing how much of a trouble she had brought to everyone. It was all because of her selfish desire that brought so much tragedies and sufferings! What right does she still have to remain by his side?

"Let go! Let go!" Usagi shrieked.

She placed both her hands on his chest, shoving him away from her with as much force as she could conjure up – which wasn't very much. Seiya remained awkwardly silent. He tugged her closer at each struggle and it sickened her to feel how secure and comfortable she still felt in his arms despite her determination to leave him.

She wasn't looking at him all these while as she tried to break his hold once again, but he still kept her there. He was stronger, a lot stronger than her, a lot stronger than any other men who tried to harm her, but unlike them, he didn't make her wrists hurt at all. Finally, she stopped struggling and glanced at him for the first time.

Then she froze at his cold expression.

His deep blue eyes, she noticed, held no warmth. She didn't want him looking at her this way. He seemed so cold, so heartless; nothing near to how he would usually appeared before her. It made her feel miserable to see his anger directed towards her. They had never fought before. The air of tranquillity that surrounded them was never broken, at least, not by him. She had yelled at him, but never had he got angry at her until now. She didn't like his cold treatment. Regardless, she knew it'd be unfair to demand that he never got angry with her upon her outrageous request.

Then, finally, he spoke in a tone that he would usually use on his inferiors or enemies. "Do you know what happens to all those that dare defy me?"

Usagi stayed silent, a tear escaped and trailed off the side of her cheeks. She knew she was staring at the true Dark Lord now, the dominator of the Underworld who was feared by everyone and held no love.

"Light, are you scared of me now?" He moved closer down to her till their lips were barely an inch away.

"You should. Because… your punishment has just begun…" He whispered coolly before capturing her lips with his.

With minimal effort, his lips pried hers open. He moved quickly and fiercely. Usagi could feel her cheeks brightened to an unusual degree. None of their kisses had been like this before. His kiss was usually gentle and warm. This was totally the opposite.

Then, she felt his hand moving down her waist with the attempt to unwrap the cloth of her kimono. But despite knowing his intention, Usagi remained perfectly still, her eyes shut tight; with no mean to struggle or oppose him.

Then, to her surprise, she felt his body backed away from hers by a little. Confused, she opened her eyes and found him staring down at her; his expression remained unfeeling.

"Why aren't you resisting?" Seiya asked, his eyes finally showing a slight hint of affection, but nevertheless, his voice remained eerie cold.

Few seconds flew by without a word. Usagi could only stare at him with tears forming in her eyes once again. She sniffed, brushing the escaping tears away with the back of her hands.

"Because… because… I've did something horrible. I've hurt you. I'm sorry, Seiya. I'm sorry… please… Please don't be upset… I-I didn't mean to make you mad… I'm sorry... Please forgive me…"

Tears blurred her vision, hazing her sight on him. She couldn't distinguish his expression. Was he still glaring coldly down at her? Was he still angry? She didn't want or dare to find out for she knew he wasn't going to forgive her despite her apologies. She held her breath, anticipating his wrath.

"Please don't ever say such things again…"

Usagi moved her hands away from her eyes upon hearing the gentle voice. She stopped her breathing once more at the sight of Seiya gazing painfully down at her; his eyes filled with sorrow and they were almost watery enough to form tears.

"Please don't ever say you will leave me again, Light." He pleaded, dropping his face to the side of hers. Usagi could feel her heart thumb painfully when she noticed him shivering slightly as he spoke those words.

"Seiya...! I'm sorry! I'm sorry…"

Her hands quickly flew to the back of his head, keeping him close to her. She knew she had hurt him emotionally and didn't deserve his forgiveness.

For a thousand years, he had struggled and battled to protect her but yet she was always the one who initiate a break up. And to make matter worse, she lied to him. She could find no reason to ask for his forgiveness, but despite so, she couldn't help but act selfishly. She was being a hypocrite, wasn't she? Because by the end of everything, all she ever truly wanted was his smile and to be with him. Deep inside, she feared deeply that he might eventually find her as a burden since she had caused enough trouble for him and her friends already.

It was all because she didn't want him to stop loving her.

Seiya pushed himself up but Usagi kept her arms locked around his neck, not allowing him to leave her side. Now, she was clear, more than certain that she couldn't afford to leave him despite knowing that she might have to sacrifice her friends. In the end, she still wasn't able to act altruistically and return back to Heaven.

She couldn't stop loving him, couldn't let him go.

"Don't worry about it, Light. Yaten and Venus… I will save them…" Seiya broke the silence in a whisper, with the intention to ease the maiden's worries.

Usagi eyes widened at his declare as guilt began to pour into her once again. "Seiya… I…"

But before Usagi could finish her sentence, she felt his body sliding away from hers as he collapsed down onto the empty spot next to her.

"Seiya?!" Usagi sat up, calling his name as she kneeled right next to him. She panicked when she noticed that his eyes were closed as he lay there motionlessly.

Usagi called his name several times more and shook him gently, but still there was no response. She was too worked up with concern to notice the subtle rise and fall of his chest. She almost cried out of fear, if she had not held his hand tight enough to feel his steady pulse. Calming down, she was able to think rationally and check on his temperature. To her relief, his forehead felt warm against her cold, sweaty hair.

It wasn't having a fever then. What about injuries? Were there any injuries on him currently that caused him to collapse?

Blushing like the inexperience virgin she was, Usagi shyly removed his leather robe and inside vest, apologizing to him at the same time as she checked for any possible injuries that would cause his collapse. But, to her relief, there wasn't any. She didn't think that he had wounded his legs, so removing his bottom weren't that all necessary and she couldn't possibly do it.

She positioned him comfortably on the bed before covering him up with a blanket. Sitting next to him, she peered at his angelic face. It looked as if he was peacefully asleep. Thinking back, she could somehow guess the cause of his sudden breakdown. When was the last time the Dark Lord actually rested without having to worry or keep his guard up? He was engaged in fierce battles for the past months and not only that, he spent sleepless night seeking for her. And just yesterday, he even fought with Poseidon. Despite his victory, summoning the Doom-will alone must have consumed most of his energy.

Usagi understood the Doom-will's power more than anyone did; after all, she was once with it. With the absent of Heaven's Light, the legend strongest weapon literally consumed its master life source in the exchange to use it, which was why only the Dark Lord could be its true owner for there was no other man dead or alive who could conquer it without vanishing. And if battling with the Doom-will wasn't tiring enough, he had to return back to Hell just to get inform that his precious comrades were trapped in Heaven.

Even the all-powerful King of Hell will experience a breakdown under such circumstances.

Usagi bit her lips, pondering whether she should call for some medical help. She thought it would be better for someone to check on him, but she didn't want to leave him unattended and she didn't know her way around Hell. She sighed, deciding to drop the idea and immediately as she did, a new thought came into her mind.

She positioned her hands right on top of his chest before taking a deep breath. "I call upon the Light of the Holy Angels…"

With it, a group of little glowing, golden pixies magically appeared around her. They danced around the golden maiden, singing a soothing melody as they sprinkled holy dust onto the Dark Lord. It lasted for a minute as Usagi quickly exorcized them when she caught one of them trying to kiss Seiya on the lips.

Her little angels were heard giggling mischievously as they levitated up the room and disappeared upon her command. She grumbled, swearing that she will never use this power on Seiya again before dropping down on the empty spot next to him. The infrequent use of her power had her feeling exhausted after only one attempt. She shook her head, trying her hardest not to fall asleep for she couldn't leave Seiya unmonitored when he was unconscious.

With this, Usagi scooted closer to him under the cover, crawling over and slipping her arms around his waist. She wanted to take this opportunity to feel his warmth for she knew their chance of staying like this in the near future was little to none.

"How good will it be if I wasn't the Heaven's Light? There will be no war. No one will get hurt. And, there will be no reason for anyone to separate us then." Usagi murmured out her thoughts in a soft voice. "Why can't we be together?"

"What makes you think we can't, Light?" A familiar voice replied.

Surprised, Usagi's face shot up at Seiya's as he turned around, hugging her against his chest and she was feeling warmer than she would beneath the thick cover.

"_Seiya…?!"_

"Please tell me what I must do to convince you, so you will not change your mind and leave me again…" Seiya asked, embracing her tightly.

Usagi didn't response to his question, not because she didn't want to but she couldn't. She didn't know what else he could do to give her an assurance. How could he expect her to not worry for him when there was practically a war set against them? Being separated was one thing while getting hurt or even killed was another. If he was killed, must she wait another thousand years for him or will there even be another thousand years for them?

There was no way she could calm her mind when they were currently in a war, and she knew better than anyone that she was the only who could end it easily. But ending it her way will only mean that she'll have to leave him for real.

It was not until a moment ago when she finally realized she couldn't and wouldn't. She needed him, and he needed her. To endure through another thousand years of war was definitely preferable to living a second without each other.

"I… I fear…" Seiya confessed in a gentle tone. "I secretly fear that I might lose you one day… This is why… Every night I couldn't sleep… I kept having the same thoughts: what if I am not strong enough to protect you? What if there's actually someone stronger than me who want to take you away? What should I do then? That's when I realized that I need to become stronger… to remain as the legend strongest… to stay as the Dark Lord… so that I can protect you… I can't afford to lose you, Light… I can't…"

His confession brought guilt into Usagi as she pressed her head against his chest, squeezing him tightly. "I'm sorry, Seiya… I'm sorry for always acting selfish. I am the worse…"

"What are you saying, Light?" Seiya loosened his grip ever so slightly, just enough to kiss her lightly on the tip of her nose. "You are the best, and also, the one and only for me. Which is why I can't afford to lose you… Can't you see? I am the selfish one here. Not you. But, you are really unlucky, Light, since I am the worse guy any girl will ever want to love or be with."

"No, you are not!" Usagi shrieked, shocking Seiya by her sudden outburst.

She clinched onto him while shaking her head frantically. There were many things she could agree with him, but definitely not this. Clearly, she was the world luckiest, no, legend luckiest girl to ever earned the Dark Lord's affection. What made him think he was the worse when he practically had every girls dying for his attention? And Usagi was certain that any girl was willing to die a million times for his affection, at least she knew, she would if he wasn't in love with her already.

Besides, there was definitely no other lover in legend that was capable and thoughtful enough to give her everything she desired, even the legendary Millennium star. He was that perfect, no doubt about it, he was amazing beyond words. No matter how she looked at it, she couldn't find any flaws about him that could make him think this way. Maybe his only fault was having her as his lover.

"You are amazing, flawless! You may not know how many girls look up to you, but I do, and I don't like it when you are surrounded by all these gorgeous ladies. I know I am in position to be acting selfish, but I just can't help feeling insecure. Believe me. Dark is just so wonderful. And, I am one of those girls who admired you deeply, but I love you more than any of them could." Usagi shrieked as she looked firmly up at him.

Seiya smiled at her confession before giggling happily. It was impossible not to feel overjoyed after hearing what she had just said. "But I don't remember anyone who is silly enough to admire me like you do."

"Admiring you is nothing silly!" Usagi shot up as she threw Seiya a disbelieving look.

How could he not notice the massive amount of attention and admiration he got every now and then? If he couldn't recall, she perfectly well could as her mind began running through the countless names and faces of his past and current admirers which ranged from human to demons and even goddesses. There was no telling how many of them envied her or wanted her dead for grabbing the Dark Lord's affection.

Seiya pushed himself, patting her on the head with a slight grin forming across his face. "You aren't going to let this drop, are you?"

Usagi shook her head as she placed both of her hands on his face, gazing at him affectionately. "Seiya, I'm so glad that you existed, because falling in love and being with you are the best things that could ever happen in my life."

Seiya could feel his heart thumb at her words, along with a light red coating flushed across his cheeks.

Usagi smiled at this blush, obviously contented that she had successfully made the Dark Lord flush. She then ran her fingers through his long silky strands, admiring its beauty.

"You let them loose again…" Usagi grinned, letting her hand get lost in his thick mop of hairs.

"I'm never good at tying them… but, I treasure the hair ribbon you gave me." He lifted his left hand up, showing her the white ribbon that was tied around his left wrist.

Usagi chuckled, "I'm finally useful for once…"

To his surprise, Usagi reached into the left sleeve of her kimono and drew out what seemed like a red ribbon. She beamed at him before leaning forward and pulling his hair back holding it in place with the ribbon.

The Dark Lord remained perfectly still as the maiden skilfully fixed his hair into a low ponytail. She withdrew herself upon finishing but she kept her arms enfolded behind his neck.

Their lips were barely parted as they gazed devotedly at each other.

"This is the only thing I could do for you…" She breathed against his lips.

"No, it isn't." He whispered to her, making her widened her eyes in surprise. "You possessed a light that no one else has. And just by being with you, I am able to feel warmth which I do not possess as the Dark Lord. I love your light, Light. I love everything about you. So, please continue to shine by me…"

His words lingered in her ears, but before she could reply, she felt his lips gently pressing against hers. She closed her eyes, letting him ravished her lips with soft kisses. Gently, he pushed her back down onto the soft mattress with her hands pinned above her head under his larger ones. Then, his lips soon found their way down to the side of her neck, making her heart beat uncontrollably.

"Seiya…" Usagi called his name in a weak voice.

Usagi was shivering uncontrollably already by the time his right hand skilfully found its way into her kimono. It was then when she realized how eerie cold his hand felt against her warm, delicate bare skin. This sent a sudden chill racing down her spine.

So, it was true then. Unlike her, the Dark Lord held no warmth; he was born without the mean to love or be loved which was the key reason for his unchallenged domination. Yes, he was created to kill, to dominate and he was meant to be this unfeeling, this cold.

She was his only warmth.

The realization of this brought tears into Usagi's eyes.

How cruel.

The maiden, as compassionate as she was, couldn't imagine living a second like the Dark Lord had for a thousand years. She did not have to taste it to know how much of a torture it was to live a life without any affection.

"I'm sorry. Please don't cry, Light."

Usagi opened her eyes at the apology only to see Seiya looking remorsefully down at her. He released her hands and slid his thumb under her eyes, wiping her tears away.

"I'll stop. I'm not going to hurt you. So, please don't cry." Seiya told her gently as he backed away from her once more.

"No! Don't go…!" Usagi pleaded as her arms caught his right, preventing him from leaving the bed.

"Light…?" Seiya looked back at her with eyes of bewilderment. Despite her uncontrollable trembling, she was still hugging his arm with all her might.

The Dark Lord couldn't understand the maiden at all. She was obviously crying and trembling because she was afraid of him, wasn't she? Everyone would upon feeling his touch. He was certain that she didn't want him to get close to her now that she had realized his coldness. So, why was she still clinching onto him?

"Don't go, Dark. Don't go…" Usagi pleaded softly, urging her shivers and tears to stop already.

Seiya's eyes were seen softening at his lover's cries. "It's alright, Light. You don't have to force yourself when you are afraid of me. I'm not mad at you. You can have a good rest now."

"Baka!! I'm not afraid… I was never scared of you!" Usagi yelled as she locked her eyes of determination to his shocked ones. Her hands found their way out of his arm as she flung herself onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Please, my lord, please grant me the permission to be your light." Usagi breathed against his ear, her sniffs softened. "Please let me be your warmth."

This had caught Seiya speechless for several seconds. His mouth hung open by an inch, but no words came out. Had he heard her right? He couldn't understand why she didn't fear him despite meeting his dark coldness. She should, since everyone else did. But instead, she'll always end up chasing after him and unconditionally giving him the warmth that he lacked. Ever since the first time they met, she never once judged or feared him. It showed in her every gaze, smile and interaction that she was devoted to him in all aspect. But, how could such dedication even be possible?

"You don't know what you are saying, Light." Seiya told her softly while embracing her closely into his chest. "Even when you are this close to me, you can't feel any warmth from me, can you?"

"I can! I can!" Usagi insisted.

She let her arms slither to the back of his waist, squeezing him tightly. "Everyone's wrong! Dark is not cold! Dark is not evil! You are beautiful, kind, gentle and incredibly caring! Light love everything about Dark too! So, at least for tonight, let me be yours, Seiya… please…"

Seiya smiled disbelievingly at her request, but she couldn't see. He did want to kiss her, to embrace her and, to make her his. Though she was totally oblivious about his lust or his desire to possess her both physically and emotionally, he never once rushed her since he disliked more than anything to see her crying because of him. Yet, here she was, pleading him to fulfil his own secret desire. Was this even real?

He moved away from her neck and placed both his hands on her cheeks, raising her head so he was looking into her teary eyes. "Will you please promise me that you'll never regret on this…"

"Then, will you promise me too that you will return to me after tonight?" Usagi asked him softly.

But before Seiya could reply, he was surprised to see Usagi taking the Millennium Star out of her ring finger. She then quietly removed the white ribbon that was tied around his left wrist before slipping the Millennium Star through it, forming a necklace.

She peered at the Millennium Star that was now hanging freely on the silk ribbon and smiled. It was amazing how perfectly their gifts matched. "Thank you, Seiya, for giving me something this beautiful. I love it very much and I'm sure it will protect you like how it protected me and our promise."

Taking the necklace with both hands, Usagi tied it around his neck. "I'll be waiting for you. So, promise me that you will personally come back and return it to me."

Usagi bit her bottom lip, fighting her urge to cry again. Her eyes misted over, regardless. She wasn't ready to say goodbye but she indirectly did with her previous action. But, what could she do besides this? She knew her lover well enough to know that he would rather die than to allow her to step back into Heaven with or without him. But, to be separated from him hurts, it hurts so much.

"I'll be back with the Millennium Star. I promise." Seiya told her firmly as he embraced her and simply held her there until her sobs die down by a bit.

He released his grip ever so slightly, just enough to meet her in the eyes. "Will you agree to marry me then, Light?"

Her tears were instantly replaced by a thick blush blooming on her cheeks. Her mouth dropped open to response, but her timidity prevented her from bringing her answer across. She looked down, trying to hide her red face from him and hearing her own heartbeats pounding crazily.

"You don't want to?" Seiya looked down at her, sounding a little hurt.

Everyone knew that the beautiful Maiden of the Light belongs to the Dark Lord, but not in status, which was partially the reason to the other Kings' or Lords' annoying persistence to claim her as their spouse. Seiya, as possessive as he was, definitely didn't like it. He was secretly praying for her acceptance since he wasn't sure if he could handle a declination from her.

"I do! I do want to get married to you!" Usagi blurted out in a rush as she lifted her head up and as she did, Seiya cupped her chin with his fingers and pulled her lips back to his. And little did she know that he was smiling happily to himself in between their kisses.

"Please don't take back what you have just said." He breathed against her lips. "Be mine, Light."

Right after his declaration, Usagi found herself flushing a dark red when she felt her kimono giving way as Seiya skillfully removed the piece of cloth off her body.

And the very next thing she knew, he was already on top of her as his eyes began scanning through her bare body in awe. Only one thought registered in his head and that was how entrancingly beautiful he thought she was, truly. It did not take him very long to notice the deep blush etched across her face as his eyes flew back to hers with a charming smile.

This just made Usagi blushed even more as she covered her face in embarrassment. "Don't just stare. It's embarrassing."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Light. You are so beautiful." Seiya told her as he wrapped his hands around her wrists gently, moving her hands away from her face.

She stared timidly back at him, her blush growing thicker as the second ticked by, making Seiya giggled at her shyness. Her timidity, he realized, made her looked even more attractive and alluring than she already was. He liked her this way. Or rather, he was deeply in love with her. It was a peculiar thing. How did she manage to draw all these affection out of him so effortlessly when he wasn't even supposed to have any?

Then, he was caught off guard when Usagi pushed herself up and wrapped her arms around his neck bashfully. Her bare skin came into contact with his, and she was amazed by how surprisingly warm and comforting his body felt against hers. Somehow, it made her happy to know that she was indeed his only warmth.

"St-stop teasing me already…" She cried, hugging him even tighter to hide herself from him.

Seiya chuckled lightly as he embraced her back. He didn't mind staying like this forever with her. It was beyond amazing how she could easily create all these happy moments for him. She even had him believing that he was the luckiest guy to ever exist in legend.

"I love you, Light. But I might end up hurting you tonight. Do forgive me." He whispered into her ear, making her loosened her embrace ever so little, just enough to look at him in the eyes innocently.

He could tell that she couldn't understand him. The maiden never once believed that the Dark Lord would ever hurt her in anyway. He would if he was to break his promise. But she trusted that he was a man of his words. She knew that, unlike her, he was capable of keeping his promise. Even so, she didn't wish to be departed or neglected by him. For this, she even went to the extent of lying that it didn't hurt even after he had broken through her virginity.

At least, she never considered it as a lie. It didn't hurt emotionally. She was more than happy that she could be his light, could be one with him now; both physically and emotionally. And maybe, even create a new little life with him…

That night, the Millennium Star did shine brightly, silently announcing the arrival of a new legendary birth in the coming future.

--

"_I love you, Light."_

The whisper awoke Usagi. She lifted her eyelids and found herself staring at the empty spot next to her.

Yes, she was the only one left lying on the massive bed. He was no longer with her.

Loneliness hit her as a quiet tear escaped and slid down her cheek.

Usagi wrapped the blanket around her bare body as she slowly crawled to the edge of the bed. She swung her legs off the bed and walked over the nearby window while dragging the long red blanket along with her.

The curtain was down, but she made no attempt to pull it up. She didn't have the strength to. She could barely stop herself from crying as she fell helplessly to the ground. The bottom of her stomach still hurt, but she wasn't crying because of the pain. She had lied that she was strong enough to endure a day or two without him. The pain hasn't seemed to lessen despite the countless time she had experienced such moments of being separated from him. In the end, it still never failed to leave her feeling all sorrow and empty.

After what seemed like an eternity of endless tearing, Usagi was finally able to calm herself down when she felt something comforting revolving inside her abdomen. She gently placed her hand over her stomach, embracing the warmth.

"_Seiya…"_

--

* * *

--

"What's happening outside? Are they still trying to break in?" Minako gasped, burying herself into Yaten's chest.

"No, it doesn't sound like it." Yaten replied, stroking her hair and hoping to ease her worries.

It did, however, seem like the gods were currently engaged in a battle. But, he wasn't that all certain for the Pit of Infinity Shadow that they were trapped in had prevented him from sensing any existing presence from the outside.

"They are finally here…" Moros announced with a smile, perceiving his friends' presence nearby.

Unlike Minako and Yaten, Moros faced no problem identifying all that were happening outside the Pit. It was his creation after all; therefore, it was no surprise that he held the power to know the situation in its exterior.

However, as destructive as the God of Shadow was, he was currently feeling pretty wore out. He had practically used up most of his shadow power to sustain the shadow pit and was now desperately in need of new souls to ease his hunger.

Yaten, noticing Moros' difficulties, was intending to persuade him to withdraw his power. He didn't wish to see his friend going through such pain in the attempt to protect him and his lover. He was certain that he was able to defend himself and Minako just fine after the sufficient rest. But before he could approach the troubled God of Shadow, a familiar presence emerging from within the Pit interrupted his action.

"Moros, our lord want us back to hell this instant." The surfacing voice declared.

All eyes watched as the dark smoky essence began to take the form of a young man. Hovering out from the shadow, they caught his appearance though not entirely for his face was hidden under a layer of black fabric. Only his cold-white eyes could be seen glowing intensely against the darkness.

"Erebus!" Yaten and Minako called out together in surprise.

--

"_Erebus, the God of Darkness is one of the Four Guardians of Hell. While his sister, Nyx, the Goddess of the Night, is said to be the most terrifying guardian when night falls, Erebus is famed as the most deadly within the dark abyss. _

_Despite his casual nature, he's a man with few words when it comes to a real battle. His only communication is through killing. Living up to his name, he is able to appear and disappear in any areas that are consumed by darkness, often appearing in many shadowy places at once. _

_The foes who were unlucky enough to encounter Erebus in the absent of light will find themselves dead and buried. Channelling his dark power into a bolt of negative energy, he was able to cut short the life of his enemies. With the ability to manifest in and out of combat, he can amplified further damage as he attacks while going invisible as a form of defence. Making his onslaught even more deadly, he also held the great capability to lash out at his enemies by walking through them, bending their bodies to his will and causing pain while he strides through them. _

_It is said that the God of Darkness is untouchable, and those who witness him blending into the darkness have never live to tell tales. Only the fools do not fear the name, Erebus." – Myth/Story Information._

--

"I presume Light-sama is safely backed in hell then." Moros concluded, surprisingly calm over his comrade's ability intrude into his Pit of Infinity Shadow. Yes, it was proven that, besides Dark Lord, Erebus was the only person who could break into his ultimate power without hindrance. He was the deadly God of Darkness after all, travelling between areas of shadow and darkness was his specialize. It was no surprise that Erebus could enter his shadow pit, despite its destructiveness, since it was mainly made out of dark void.

"What? You found Seiya and Usagi?!" Yaten burst out in astonishment, his voice held a hint of gratefulness.

"Hermes did." Erebus answered simply.

"Guess we got to hurried back to hell to protect Light-sama then, if that's our Lord's order…" Moros stressed in a serious tone. The God of Shadow, as loyal and devoted as he was, never hesitated to accomplish his king's command.

"Keys and Venus too." Erebus added shortly.

"No, I am not going back without Artemis!" Minako protested, hugging her husband dearly. She was determined to stay here with Yaten and keep him from doing anything dangerous.

"Listen to me, Venus. Return to Hell with the guardians. I need to stay and aid Seiya…" Yaten told her firmly.

As much as he wanted to return back home with her, he didn't wish to leave his King and friends fighting by themselves, especially when they came here with the only mean to rescue him and his lover.

"No, no, no! If you are going to fight, I will fight by your side." Minako stubbornly insisted.

Erebus and Moros shook their heads at the sight of the couple arguing. Created without the taste of affection, they knew nothing about love and could not understand their reasons of conflict. All they could recognize was the right to obey the Dark Lord.

"Undo your pit, Moros. Hermes is waiting for us outside. He will bring us back to Hell directly." Erebus informed.

Moros nodded with a grin as he unhesitatingly withdrew his Pit of Infinity Shadow and immediately Minako stopped her dispute with Yaten as she gasped at the dark atmosphere around her.

Due to Nyx's night cast, the environment was dim and shady with limitless gods and demonic creatures battling around her. Dead, abandoned bodies were laid unattended and souls were seen levitating everywhere.

This wasn't the heaven she knew, it wasn't even close!

Heaven had lost sign of its serenity and sanctity due to the engaging war. It had clearly became a battlefield.

Yaten, on the other hand, was astonishingly calm over the on-going battle. His eyes scanning across the battlefield ever so slowly as he noticed his various comrades and subordinates fought over the divinity gods and warriors. He spotted Haruka electrocuting his enemies from afar while some of his underlings got themselves slain and souls seized by some undistinguished heavenly gods.

Unlike Minako, Yaten was used to the horrific scene. His eyes continued scanning through the combat zone, in hope to spot Seiya, but he could neither sense his presence nor see his silhouette anywhere.

"What took you so long, Erebus?" A fierce female voice was heard exclaiming.

Yaten turned, meeting Nyx along with Hermes who were situated in front of a dark portal. He recognized the black entrance. It was the mini gateway to hell which only the deathless gods of hell could access.

"Where's Eris?" Moros asked causally, looking out for the missing guardian.

"After we've reached here, that brat got overexcited and became such a nuisance, so I threw him back to Hell in advance." Nyx answered uncaringly before directly her thumb over to the portal. "Guardians, my keys and Venus in…"

Minako hid herself behind Yaten stubbornly, not willing to enter the dark access. "I'm not going back without Artemis!"

"Venus…" Yaten stressed, but before any of them could force her into the portal, an army of divinity gods emerged from nowhere, attacking the guardians from all direction.

"Pests." Nyx commented as she raised her finger.

"Raise Revenants."

Within seconds, the night sky was seen filled with a swamp of green screaming spirits as they descended down and attacked the surrounding divinity warriors.

Erebus was seen dispersing into smoke, only to reappear above his enemies' dead corpses.

While Yaten was busy shooting down the offensive gods, Hermes was seen hovering around the battlefield as he seized the heavenly souls while Moros happily ate them. He then manipulated the souls that he had consumed into a powerful shadow blast, sending it towards the on-coming enemies and destroying them instantly.

It didn't take the surrounding armies very long to realize that they shouldn't be opposing such fearsome opponents. Even with the absent of Eris, the remaining three guardians could crush their enemies with shocking ease.

However, as powerful as they might have seemed, there was a difference between the guardians and generals of hell. That was, unlike the generals, the guardians can never perform at their best when the environment wasn't consumed by darkness. Hell being the home of all dark forces was their ideal place to reside.

They were said to be invisible in the underworld; therefore, an invasion into Hell was claimed impossible with their existences. However, they were now in Heaven. Despite Nyx's night zone, they did not have full control over their surrounding as the darkness around them began to spread away welcoming the holy lights and morning sun.

While Nyx cloaked herself invisible from the holy rays, her other companions lifted their heads, gazing up at the lady who was responsible for turning the night time to day.

From afar, the mysterious goddess looked elegantly beautiful and mystical. Her long hair that reached all the way down to her feet was blonde at the starting strands while reddish pink at the bottom end. She was accompanied by the five divinity generals of heaven; namely, Ares, Apollo, Cratus, Aether and Zelos.

The greenery spread, flowers bloomed and the defeated gods revived as she hovered by and finally, she descended down in front of the various Hell gods.

"Galaxia-sama, you can leave all these insignificants to me." Ares volunteered.

Galaxia shook her head, gesturing Ares and the rest of her generals to hold their attacks. She then took a step front, eyeing on Yaten as she questioned. "Artemis, may I know where Dark is?"

For seconds, Yaten could only stare back at Galaxia astonishingly. He recognized this lady before him. She was the Queen of Heaven, the mother of Kronos and Uranus. It was said that she shone the same light as Usagi, and therefore was capable to create life and serenity to the gods in heaven. With such unmatched beauty and ability, she had no doubt won the hearts of all heavenly gods who gratefully saw her as the Mother of Heaven.

"Like I'll ever tell you…" Yaten replied firmly.

"You traitor! How dare you disrespect Galaxia-sama?!" Zelos burst out, pointing his gigantic hammer at Yaten. He, along with the other heavenly gods, could not tolerate anyone disrespecting their idol.

Without hesitation, the five generals charged forth, attacking the God of Moon all at once.

Yaten hastily pushed Minako out from his range, protecting her from the coming attacks as Hermes grabbed her into his arms.

"Artemis!!" Minako screamed, as she witnessed the five generals charging down at Yaten at all direction. From the looked of it, there was no way he could escape. It was his inevitable death.

It ended with a blast and the area was covered with thick white ashes.

"Artemis!! Artemis, Artemis!!" Minako called out desperately to her husband as she struggled to break loose from Hermes' grip.

The area in which she had last saw Yaten was still conquered by white essences, preventing her from knowing what had actually happened to him. Was he dead? Was the father of the child she was carrying dead? She grasped onto Hermes, begging him and the other guardians to aid her lover. But, to her surprise, they just shook their heads with no intention to move forth and check on Yaten.

It was when she felt the familiarly powerful and scary presence evolving from inside the white ashes that she understood the reason to her friends' calmness.

The white essence slowly died down, revealing a dominating young man with large black wings. While his left hand held Yaten out of danger, his right hand was seen gripping onto a enormous double-edged sword that had dark burning hell fire as its blade.

It was the legendary Doom-will.

Galaxia could feel her heart thump at the sight of the Dark Lord while the generals back off as the Hell King impaled the Doom-will into the grassy ground.

-DOOM-

Instantly, the ground cracked open as the legendary sword ignited the surrounding heaven with its burning doom fire. And, the once peaceful atmosphere was soon conquered by the fierce essence of hell's rage.

The Dark Lord glared unfeelingly at various heavenly gods, sending a burning chill down their spines while Ares was seen shivering with excitement as well as intimidation at the Hell King's incredible power.

"Greetings my lord." All the surrounding hell gods and guardians kneeled respectfully before their king.

Upon hearing the greetings and feeling the all so familiar presence, Yaten lifted his eyelids and looked up, just in time to see the Dark Lord changing his attention down to him.

"Seiya…" Yaten murmured his name in surprise.

"You are really an idiot to allow all these morons to capture you." Seiya commented with a sigh, releasing Yaten from his hold.

"Who are you calling an idiot?!" Yaten yelled back at him, surprising everyone with his unexpected burst out at the Dark Lord. "You are the idiot who went missing for months! Do you think I will end up in this filthy place if I hadn't gone about searching for you?!"

"Didn't I tell everyone not to look for me already?" Seiya argued back casually. "Unlike you, I can take care of myself just fine. So, why bother?"

There was a moment of shocking silence. Only the argument between the Dark Lord and the God of the Moon could be heard before they were interrupted by a loud shout coming from Ares.

"Duel me, Dark Lord! Give me a decent battle!" Ares shouted across, while laughing excitedly.

This brought Seiya and Yaten looking back at their enemies, finally realizing that they were slowly being surrounded by more troops of heaven's armies. It was nothing surprising since everyone wanted the Dark Lord seized. However, with the dangerous essence that the Doom-will had created, none could get near him.

"Artemis! Artemis!"

Yaten spun around, in time to see Minako running towards him. The purplish-red flame given off by the Doom-will was seen giving way to the Goddess of Love as she eagerly embraced her husband.

Seiya watched silently as Minako cried in Yaten's arms while he comforted her softly. He smiled faintly at the intimate scene before him as it reminded him of himself with Usagi. He then reached up and gripped onto the Millennium Star hanging down from his neck. Yes, he was missing her already. He missed being by her side, hearing her voice, and seeing her face. He simply missed her too much that it hurt inside.

"Dark…"

Seiya's eyes shot up in surprise at the voice calling his name directly. Besides Usagi, no one would address him with such intimacy. He turned his attention towards the lady calling him and stared blankly at her, not recognizing her.

"Hermes, Nyx, Moros, Erebus... Bring Yaten and Venus back with you." Seiya ordered coolly, ignoring Galaxia. He had noticed the massive amount of heavenly gods that had bordered them and understood perfectly well that Minako will never agree to leave Yaten here in danger with him.

Hermes and the guardians obediently obeyed as they grabbed Yaten and Minako by their arms, ready to send them into the portal.

"Idiot! I am not going back! I am staying here to fight!" Yaten yelled at Seiya as he struggled to break free from his comrades' hold.

Seiya had personally came to save him and Minako, and Yaten will never agree on going back without him. The Dark Lord had rescued him so many times. But how many times have he saved him in return? Zero. So, how can he possibly allow himself to abandon his saviour here in danger?

Then, Yaten stopped struggling when he felt someone patting him lightly on his head. He looked up, meeting Seiya in the eyes.

"You are the most troublesome, stubborn, and problematic general ever…" Seiya told Yaten bluntly. Then to everyone's surprise, the Dark Lord's lips were seen curving into a genuine smile as beamed lightly down at him. "But, you will always be my favourite."

Yaten froze for a second as a blush started to bloom across his face at his king's statement. The guardians took this opportunity to drag him away but he was seen resisting again in the next second. "You idiot! Do you think I will obediently go back and leave you alone here?! I am not going to…!"

"Yaten, I heard Venus had agreed to marry you. Congratulation. What's more, you are going to be a father soon…" Seiya added, walking away from Yaten and approaching the enemies. "You can't stay here, your wife and child need you."

Yaten clutched his hands into fists as his eyes began to turn watery, "Baka! Stop thinking about me! What about your happiness?! What about Usagi? She needs you too, right? She needs you too, right?!"

His cries had brought Seiya to stop his step. He looked quietly down, so none can read his emotion or thoughts. Yaten's cries were heard slowly fainting as the guardians dragged him into the dark portal before everything turned quiet.

"Dark…"

Seiya's face shot up and to his surprise, Galaxia was now standing directly in front of him. She had ordered all troops to hold their attacks on the Dark Lord for she couldn't allow anyone to hurt him.

"I've missed you so much, Dark…" Galaxia told him softly as she reached her hand to his face.

Seiya backed away from her touch as he glared coolly down at her. Who was this woman? Why was she calling and gazing him with such intimacy? He definitely couldn't recall ever knowing her.

"You won't want to touch me, woman." Seiya told her coldly.

"And, why not?" Galaxia smiled. "Light isn't the only one who can give you warmth, Dark. I can too."

"Nonsense." Seiya commented as his hand gripped onto the Doom-will, pulling it out from the ground and pointing it at Galaxia.

The generals and warriors was ready to charge front to protect their queen from the Dark Lord's coming assault but Galaxia just raised her hand against them, ordering them to back away.

She looked calmly at Seiya and smiled, "There's no way you are going to hurt me since I hold something that you've always wanted."

"Galaxia-sama! You are not going to…?!" Some of the gods asked in shock.

Seiya looked questionably at Galaxia as she approached him while avoiding the deadly Doom-will. "Light must love you a lot. A thousand years ago, after your fall from heaven, she gave up her soul here just to follow you. I would too if I could live without a soul. But, unlike her, I can't. But, that doesn't mean I don't love you as much as she does."

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Seiya demanded.

The Dark Lord was totally oblivious over the fact that the maiden had sacrificed her soul just to be with him. It all made sense now. He finally could understand why she couldn't exploit her power without feeling weak because of the absent of her spirit presence. It was unbelievable to think that she had used her light power just to keep herself alive for him. To make everything more traumatizing, she had actually kept it as a secret from him for over a thousand years? And, it was all because she didn't want to worry him?

How silly…

"You can have her body, her light but you can never have her soul, Dark." Galaxia added.

"Give Light's soul to me! Give her back to me!" Seiya demanded, and the Doom-will was heard roaring angrily upon feeling its master fury.

"You know, we, heaven don't need her spirit core. We just need her light. I wonder what will happen if we are to destroy her soul…"

"You…!" Seiya tightened his grip against the Doom-will, with the intention to strike Galaxia but his attack stopped right before the fiery blade touch her neck.

She continued smiling at him calmly. Edging herself up on the tips of her toes, she wrapped her arms around his neck, embracing him. "Don't go back to Light, Dark. Stay with me and I'll promise you that her precious soul will stay unharmed…"

--

* * *

--


	33. Happily Ever After, Not

Last Chapter:

-

"_You can have her body, her light but you can never have her soul, Dark." Galaxia added._

"_Give Light's soul to me! Give her back to me!" Seiya demanded, and the Doom-will was heard roaring angrily upon feeling its master fury._

"_You know, we, heaven don't need her spirit core. We just need her light. I wonder what will happen if we are to destroy her soul…"_

"_You…!" Seiya tightened his grip against the Doom-will, with the intention to strike Galaxia but his attack stopped right before the fiery blade touch her neck._

_She continued smiling at him calmly. Edging herself up on the tips of her toes, she wrapped her arms around his neck, embracing him. "Don't go back to Light, Dark. Stay with me and I'll promise you that her precious soul will stay unharmed…"_

_--_

* * *

_--_

**A Happily Ever After, Not**

--

"Light, wake up… Light..." Usagi heard someone whispered into her ear.

Instantly, her eyes shot wide opened at the call from an all too familiar voice. She flipped herself over, looking up and finding a pair of dark blue eyes gazing affectionately down at her.

It took her a while before she could response to his call as her eyes began to turn watery. She fought to swallow back her tears as she struggled to speak, her mouth letting out a soft, weak mutter of his name. "Sei…ya…"

"Light." He smiled charmingly back at her.

"Seiya! Seiya!" Usagi shot up from her spot on the bed and embraced him with as much force as she could conjure up.

"You are back! You are back!" She wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing terribly.

"Light, I've missed you. I've missed you so much." Seiya buried her into his chest, hugging her tightly.

"Me too! Me too! I was so worried… so worried that we might not see each other again!" Usagi cried, holding dearly onto him.

"I'll never leave you, Light. So, please don't cry…" He told her, releasing her ever so slightly to lick the excess tears off her cheek before moving down and kissing her hungrily on the lips.

He moved on when she gasped for air, planting more kisses across her face, down her neck and to her collar bone, pausing only when her small hands touched his cheeks, directing him back to her lips.

They broke apart after a moment, gazing devotedly at one another and interlacing their hands together.

"I wish we could just stay like this forever." Usagi breathed as she locked his hands firmly with hers, not willing to let him go.

"Me too… I don't want to wake up from this dream…" Seiya replied, bringing their entwined hands to his face and pressing his lips on her skin.

"Don't go, Seiya… Please don't go…" Usagi pleaded, grabbing onto his shirt and tugging him closer to her. She doesn't want him to leave or to wake up from this dream. The burning sensation that engulfed her heart whenever he wasn't around was definitely the worse torment that she could ever experience.

"Trust me, Light. We'll be together again…" He assured as his hand quickly flew to the back of her head and he drew her into his arms, holding her there in hope to convince her.

Usagi kept quiet, believing his words despite knowing that a future with Seiya wasn't her destiny to begin with. Deep inside, Usagi knew she should be grateful for the given opportunities to be with him in her dreams, but it still wasn't enough to sustain her. Seiya was more than just a lover; he has utterly become her necessity to live and she knew she wouldn't be able to survive long without his presence.

Unable to release him, Usagi clung onto him, despite the fact that she was bothered about wetting his exclusive coat with her tears. She was aware that he was feeling distressed with her sobs, but her cries couldn't stop despite her effort to hold them back. It hurt to be uncertain, to see him vanish, and to wake up knowing it was just a dream. No matter how tightly she held onto him, he would always disappear in the end, and this awareness was what frightened and upset her, tremendously.

All these while, Seiya was silent as he kept her wrapped in his arms, stroking her hairs and letting her cry. He continued to hold her there, hating himself for always upsetting her. He was the great Dark Lord, an utterly extraordinary being who ruled unchallenged, yet he couldn't even please the only girl he loved. Never in his life have he encountered anyone who could make him feel this helpless and useless. The Maiden of the Light was probably the only one in legend who was capable of doing so.

Now, Seiya was obviously lost, not knowing what he should do to ease her sorrow. Though he was fully aware of the reason for her crying, as much as he wanted to, he couldn't return to her without retrieving her soul back. This was the crucial key that threatened their future together and he definitely wasn't going to allow heaven or fate to use her soul as the tool to ruin their relationship for the next thousand years or so. Besides, it was all because of him that it had become this way. He didn't want her to sacrifice anymore and didn't wish to see her feeling weak most of the time due to the absent of her spirit essence. Furthermore, it would be so unjust for her to always get pinpointed as weak and useless just because she had secretly sacrificed most of her power for his sake.

Several minutes went by without a single word and by the time her cries died down, Usagi was feeling the bitter taste of queasiness. Despite the fact that she was currently engaged in a dream created by the Dark Lord, she could still feel her body reacting uncomfortably. But still, she forced herself to stay quiet about her sickness, not wanting to worry Seiya or to see him leave.

But, Seiya, as sharp as he was, effortlessly noticed the tiniest change in her.

"Light, are you alright?" He inquired in concern, releasing Usagi and looking worriedly down at her.

Usagi nodded, but avoided his eyes in hope that he would buy her lies and stay for a moment longer.

"No, you are not." Seiya frowned in displeased.

Then, much to Usagi's despair, he gently pried her hands off his arms and stood up. The maiden swore she would have flung herself onto him if he hadn't slipped his hands into hers a second later and positioned her till she was seated directly in front of him. She watched quietly as he gracefully kneeled down on one knee before her while his eyes scanned through her body for any possible sign of injuries.

"You sure you aren't hurt or anything?" His eyes flew back to hers with obvious concern making Usagi smiled lightly at his worried expression.

She was happy to know that he cared a lot for her. Besides, to be able to see such rare anxiety coming from the ruthless Dark Lord was simply priceless.

"I'm fine, Seiya. I'm not hurt or anything." Usagi shook her head with a small smile.

"Are you sure you are alright? You can always tell me if it still hurt…" Seiya told her, pressing his lips gently against the back of her hand.

"Still hurt?" Usagi cocked her head slightly to her right not getting his words.

"That night… I've hurt you badly, haven't I?" Seiya hinted, glancing away with a faint blush.

It took a while for the meaning of his sentence to register in her head before her face turned extremely red. She looked down shyly while shaking her head.

"No, no. You didn't hurt me at all …" Usagi tried convincing in a small voice despite her shyness.

She didn't want Seiya to be blaming himself for her present condition. She understood herself well enough to know that she was prone to falling ill easily due to the lack of sufficient power to protect her body.

Determined to convince Seiya, Usagi decided to stare fiercely at him in hope that he'd believe her or, at least, stop blaming himself for everything. She thought it would work, since she remembered witnessing everyone submitting to Seiya due to his dangerous glare. If he could do it, she could too, right?

However, in the eyes of the Dark Lord, he found the maiden downright adorable for trying to imitate his glare. With those cute enlarged eyes of hers, along with her dark red face, the fierce stare that she was trying to portray was nothing near to the Dark Lord's deadly ones. It wasn't even a glare to begin with. This just made Seiya laughed hilariously at her current expression.

Immediately, Usagi dropped her fierceness at his laughter, not understanding his joyous reaction. It was extremely rare to see the emotionless Dark Lord laughing happily like that. He was always stern, if not expressionless, hardly smiling at anything that would make her grin. But yet, here he was now, giggling joyously for some unknown reason. For Usagi, this was definitely the most memorable moment with him.

She wanted so badly to smile at his joy but forced herself to pout at him since he was obviously laughing at her.

"Hump! I was being serious! You got to believe me! It didn't hurt and it wasn't your fault…!" Usagi exclaimed, deciding to get up from where she was seated to show her determination.

But before she could do so, she felt herself being pushed back gently as she fell onto the soft bed with Seiya smiling mischievously down at her.

Usagi could feel her cheeks darkening at the sight of Seiya moving closer down towards her. He paused right before his lips touched hers and grinned playfully.

"So, will you allow me to do it again?" He breathed against her lips.

Her face immediately shot up to a hot red at his proposal. She began rapping his chest lightly to cover up for the embarrassment. "Seiya! Hentai (Pervert)! Hentai!"

He giggled at her shyness before grasping onto her wrists gently and stopping her rampage. Usagi continued to peer at him with a brightly visible blush as he took her hand into his and placed it against his lips, planting a kiss onto the back of her hand.

"I love you, Light… I love you so much…" He told her as he held her hand against his cheek. And as he did, his body began to turn translucent.

A single tear escaped and slipped from her eyes at the sight of her lover vanishing. She knew that this dream was about to come to an end and she would wake up without him by her side. Usagi bit her lips, trying her hardest not to cry. She didn't want to make this goodbye anymore tougher than it actually was, but her tears wouldn't hold despite her great effort to keep them in.

"Please don't cry, Light. I'll be back soon, I promise." Seiya ran his fingers under her eyes, clearing her excess tears.

Usagi nodded, as she held his hand close to her cheek and feeling his presence for the one last time.

"I love you too, Seiya." She breathed as she felt his hand diffusing away from her hold, and his charming smile was the last thing she saw before he completely disappeared from her dream.

--

"_Light…"_

Seiya slowly lifted his eyelids; awaking from the dream he had created to be with Usagi. Though he had return to reality, his thoughts were still trapped with his maiden. Images of her continued to flow into his mind as he remained seated with his back leaned against a gigantic tree.

"_Seiya… Seiya…"_

He could still picture her smiling and calling his name happily. She looked irresistibly adorable when she was like that and thrice as loveable whenever she blushed.

A faint grin spread across his face at the thought of her.

"She's just so adorable…" He muttered to himself but immediately dropped his beautiful grin when he sensed a strong presence approaching.

"Isn't this going a little too far, Dark Lord?"

Lifting his head, Seiya glared emotionlessly at the army of heavenly gods approaching him. They stopped at a safe distance, breaking into two lines to make way for their divine king, Kronos, and generals.

The Heaven King creased his forehead at the brutal scene before him. Definitely, he was not pleased to find countless corpses and remains of his godly soldiers scattered across the heaven ground. Many of the bodies, he noticed, were either cruelly dissected or disfigured with blood spurt all over them.

It was the Dark Lord's doing.

Indeed, Heaven had never experienced a peaceful day ever since the Hell King's arrival. The Dark Lord had shown his wrath by slaying whatever gods that dared stand in his way or prevented him from getting to the maiden's soul, wherever it was. In the end, no one has yet proved themselves worthy enough to be his challenger, not any of the heavenly generals, not even the present King of God, Kronos, himself, can stand a chance against the fearsome Doom-will.

"I presume you are here to become Doom-will's feast then." Seiya concluded coolly as he got up from his resting spot and stepped over the many dead bodies around him.

They watched quietly, with shivers running down their spines, as the Dark Lord hauled out the Doom-will from the heaven earth and pointed it at them.

"Ready to visit Hell?" He asked coldly before a loud, angry roar escaped from the Doom-will upon feeling his master's hatred.

-DOOM-

Instantly, the ground began to shake recklessly as purplish-black flame took over the heaven field, forming a deadly barrier between the Dark Lord and the heavenly armies. The Hell fire swallowed everything that got in its path, turning the corpses to ashes and greeneries to voids.

While most of the armies were seen backing away from the Doom-will's wrath, Ares recklessly charged front while dodging the area of Hell fire around him.

"Challenge me, Dark Lord!" Ares yelled as he rushed an attack on the Dark Lord who stood a field away from him.

"Fool." Seiya commented and turned his back against Ares uncaringly.

Ares eyes widened with rage at the Dark Lord's defenceless act, but he wasn't given much time to consider or even show his anger when a gigantic hand created by the fire from Hell seized him from behind.

"AHHHHHH!!!" His scream of agony was heard throughout the battlefield as the fury hand tightened its grip, squashing his body mercilessly while setting him ablaze.

"Why don't you just vanish under Hell's flame?" Seiya smirked evilly, glancing over his shoulder and witnessing the other divine generals coming to Ares' aid.

Their useless resistance bored him terribly. Then again, the entire Heaven itself was uninteresting to begin with and if it wasn't for Usagi's soul, the Dark Lord would never agree to stick with such dullness.

Eager to achieve his intent, Seiya proceeded down his path to carry on with his search, leaving the divinity armies behind. But, he stopped his step promptly when he felt a droplet of water dripped onto his skin. He stared expressionlessly at the crystal blue substance resting on the back of his hand and smirked lightly.

He turned around, watching the Hell flame around him slowly dying down to the holy rain that was summoned by the King of Heaven, Kronos. Soon, pellets of sacred water fell onto the ground in a light drizzle. The rain cleansed the atmosphere, extinguishing it from the Hell's fire and giving the serenity back to heaven. The armies cheered at their King's dominance while the rest of the generals regrouped themselves, preparing for the next attack.

"This is not Hell. Your flame can never last for eternity with me around." Kronos claimed, directing his sword of ultimate divinity at Seiya.

"You expect to defeat me with such mere raindrops?" The Dark Lord shook his head at Kronos' proclaims.

"What a joke." He finished, piercing the Doom-will fiercely to the ground.

-DOOM-

A larger impact shook everyone down to their knees as the ground cracked open with the eruption of the undying lava of Hell. The dark lava burst out fiercely at every hotspot, conquering the area with its rash and forcing every single one of the heavenly gods to flee from it dangerous aura of death.

The holy rain began to fall harder and faster with the attempt to extinguish the deadly fire fluid, but to no avail. Anything that got near the doom eruption would evaporate without a trace of existence, making the area around the Dark Lord an impossible place to live.

"Let me show you what Hell is like." Seiya declared coldly as he directed the wave of liquefied fire over to consume the armies of divinity gods before him. The current Dark Lord was in a killing mode and would spare no mercy to any existence, alive or dead. Now, there was nothing channelling inside him besides the mean to destroy and dominate. His objective was to eradicate every moving object, every existence and every soul that reside in heaven.

"_Seiya… Seiya…" _

The Dark Lord froze his attack at the familiar, sweet voice calling out to him in his mind.

"Light…"

Then it struck him.

He couldn't destroy Heaven, not with Usagi's soul still trapped somewhere in this place. Yes. What was he doing? He couldn't be standing here and wasting his time on killing some worthless gods when Usagi was waiting lonely for him. He got to find her soul fast and return to her. He couldn't break his promise and definitely wouldn't want to upset her any further.

Immediately, the Dark Lord withdrew his power and, as he did, the erupting flame of death around him disappeared upon his command.

"… I'm sorry to keep you waiting." He whispered as he held the Millennium Star up by the ribbon, bringing it to his lips. "Light…"

The Millennium Star sparkled brilliantly at his apology but its glow quickly diminished at the arrival of a particular goddess.

"That's so beautiful! Is that the legendary Millennium Star?" A voice of excitement from above was heard asking.

Seiya glared up at the Mother of Heaven, Galaxia, who was declining down before him. He gently released his grip against the Millennium Star, letting it hung freely around his neck, before turning away.

"I apologize for my son's and generals' rude behaviours, Dark." Galaxia called out, tailing behind. "I can guarantee that they'll not disturb you again…"

Seiya kept quiet as he continued to ignore Galaxia, finding her awfully irritating. He swore he would have ended this woman if she wasn't the key to releasing Usagi's soul. He couldn't risk killing her only to lose his lover's soul in the end. His present annoyance was nothing compared to his concern for Usagi, which was why he could tolerate the constant pestering from Galaxia. However, despite his effort to think that she wasn't there, Galaxia refused to back down and her continuous blabbering definitely irritated Seiya to no end.

"What do you want, woman?" Seiya finally demanded and glared over his shoulder.

Galaxia smiled at his responsiveness as she picked up her speed and stopped right in front of him. She looked up and beamed at the Millennium Star with great interest.

"I want this…" She pointed her finger at the exclusive ring that was hanging down by a white ribbon around his neck.

"What?" Seiya creased his forehead slightly.

"I want the Millennium Star." Galaxia repeated and reached her hand out for the ring.

"Don't touch it!" Seiya slapped her hand away from the Millennium Star and glared coldly down at her, sending her a death warning.

But instead of backing away in fright, Galaxia managed to keep her composure and beamed lightly back up at the Dark Lord. "I've heard of the story about the Millennium Star. It's really as enchanting as what the legend claimed. But, it's such a pity that you gave it to Light… She doesn't deserve it as much as I do."

"Are you quite through with your nonsense?" Seiya asked in a bitter tone, his voice raising steadily as he stared fiercely down at the woman before him. "Let me make this really clear. Light is my wife to be, and neither you nor anything else for that matter can change that."

"But fate can…" Galaxia muttered with a smirk, knowing that the Dark Lord would not disagree with her claim since he should know better than anyone else about his forbidden relationship with Usagi.

"Are you still going to marry Light despite this…?" Galaxia added, asking softly.

For a moment, the Dark Lord just stared at her before a faint smile was seen spreading across his charming face. This, of course, surprised Galaxia and, at the same time, caused her to blush at his rare grin. Since when did the ruthless Hell King learn to smile so charmingly like that? But it further startled her when she saw him slowly bending down toward the side of her face.

"Yes." He whispered into her ear with confidence. "Whether fate allows it or not, I'm going to marry Light. And, I'll do anything to protect her… There, are you satisfied now?"

At this, he pulled away and gradually walked past Galaxia without any sign of hesitation. But, a hand reached out and stopped him. Seiya looked down at the woman who was grabbing onto him by his leather sleeve. He swore he would have flung her hand off him if she hadn't release him a second later.

"No…" Galaxia muttered while looking down and clutching her fists in displease. "No, I am not satisfied. I am not satisfied that you have changed so much, Dark…"

Her face shot up to his expressionless one as she abruptly grasped onto him by his arms. "I don't understand…! The Dark Lord I knew never takes any woman seriously. Despite how beautiful they are or how sweet they appear to be, you never once take any of them into consideration. They are nothing more than just sexual pleasure to you… but why… why, Light? Why are you going this far for her? I don't understand, Dark…"

"Take your hands off me." Seiya demanded in a mono-tone, ignoring her query.

"No! Not till you answer me!" Galaxia insisted, moving her hands quickly down to his with the attempt to lock him in place.

But instead, she froze upon coming into contact with his skin. She shivered at the chilly sensation of his touch and felt the coldness streaming over her body.

His touch hurt.

It felt as if someone had just stabbed her hands with a sharp iceberg. No, it was something more painful than that.

It was the chill of death.

Frightened, Galaxia quickly withdrew her hand from his and took a step back in fear. Her enlarged eyes quickly flew to his emotionless ones.

"I've warned you." The Dark Lord pointed out coolly, his eyes switching their view from Galaxia to his hands before smirking evilly. "I'm not someone you'll want to touch…"

"No…" Galaxia opened her mouth to object but was interrupted by his next statement.

"Light…" Seiya breathed her name, holding the Millennium Star by the ribbon and gazing at it with affection. "Only Light is silly enough to accept someone as inhuman as me… "

The thought of Usagi brought an instant smile to his face. Indeed, she was the only one who didn't fear him despite coming into direct contact with his coldness. Instead, she would just smile at him, admiring and seeing his flaws as something incredibly wonderful. Gentle? Kind? Beautiful? Clearly, he was nothing of all those. The Dark Lord couldn't understand how the maiden even came up with such ideals for him. Despite witnessing his wrath and cruelty, she never once shows any sight of fear towards him. It tells in her every gaze and smile that she was devoted to him in all aspect.

She loved him, truly.

And, it was this innocent affection that created warmth in him. She was like the sunshine that drove all the coldness away, living him feeling humanly alive for that brief moment with her. Ultimately, she had pulled him out of his own darkness and taught him the essence of joy. In return, he had developed and learnt something known as love. But strangely, he could give this feeling to no one but her.

"_I love you, Light."_

Galaxia could feel her heart thump at the sight of the Dark Lord smiling to himself, but his grin left as quickly as it came as he glared emotionlessly back at her.

"Light changed me." Seiya pointed out plainly as he walked past Galaxia. "I've answered your question. So, stop wasting my time unless you want to test my limit… But, let me warn you. I have little patience left."

Galaxia wanted to reach out for the Dark Lord who was leaving her sight, but she stopped where she was and dropped her hand. The frozen chill of death still lingered throughout her body, sending a clear message to her that she shouldn't be anywhere near this fearsome being. It was no use. She couldn't keep this man. He was way too powerful; way too formidable to even get close to. Besides Usagi, he had ultimately forbid anyone from getting close to him by freezing his touch.

What a skilful way of rejection.

But, the Mother of Heaven wasn't going to give up just yet. If she couldn't have the Dark Lord, no one can. She was going to prove to him that he could never win fate. Yes, the Maiden of the Light and the Dark Lord could never be together. It was their fate from the beginning and, no matter how hard they tried, it would never change.

The Dark Lord would finally admit defeat once he found her soul and this beautiful love story would then come to an end, but not with a happily ever after.

"Dark…" Galaxia lowered her face as she called out to Seiya in a relatively low but clear voice. "I'll tell you where her soul is."

The Dark Lord instantly stopped his step at her proclaim. For the first time, the inexpressive King of Hell actually widened his eyes in surprise. But this rare expression only wavered for a second before he quickly regained the cool composure that he usually exhibited, glancing over his shoulder and eyeing suspiciously at Galaxia.

"What are you plotting, woman?" Seiya demanded in a mutter.

"Nothing." Galaxia smiled with a cruel glint in her eyes. "I just want to show you what fate has installed for the both of you."

Concerned, Seiya finally turned around and locked his eyes of coldness to her scheming ones. He remained silent, waiting for her explanation, but for a moment, she just kept quiet, torturing him with the silence.

Then, feeling the fury of impatience seeping off of him, Galaxia quickly broke the silence with a light giggle and added. "You really don't know? About the price you got to pay to retrieve her soul from the Crystalline of Eternity. And, to think you are the one who created it…?"

"Wh-what?" Seiya took a step back in shock at the mention of the divinity lock of eternity.

It was his creation, a thousand years ago, when he was still the heavenly king. Back then, he was experimenting to create the perfect chamber that could confine souls for eternity, one he could be proud enough to call it 'Hell', but none of them prove to be worthy or successful enough. Generally, the Crystalline of Eternity was one of his failure attempts after realizing that he could not release a soul from it without sacrificing part of his. Indeed, he had created something so deadly and cruel that it demanded its own master's existence in exchange for the captive's.

And the captive was none other than Usagi!

"It would be a waste to discard your genius invention, which was why we used it to store her soul." Galaxia continued with a smile. "But, ultimately, it was still your creation. So, by the end of everything, wasn't it you who imprisoned her soul for a thousand years…? So, this the way you show your love to Light?"

"Lies… Lies! Lies!!" Seiya snapped in a crazed frenzy of denial.

His eyes shot up into a deadly glare, shocking Galaxia silence. The great fury from the Dark Lord caused the atmosphere around her to turn incredibly tense and dark. The ground fissured a second later and the sky grew implicitly dark as a horrible quake trembled Heaven mercilessly, destroying the tranquillity and tearing the beautiful landscapes.

At this, Galaxia gasped in fright, levitating away before the darkness consumed her.

Seiya dropped to his knees, kneeling on the cracked ground and clutching onto his throbbing head. He was still unable to grasp onto the situation. How was he able to handle this? To tell him after a thousand years that he was the cause of Usagi's torment was way beyond cruelty. Did she know? For all these years, did she know that he was the one who restrained her freedom?

He stared agonizingly at his hands, wanting to destroy them for creating something that brought nothing but pain to Usagi. He was a terrible person, a heartless creature for doing this to her.

He has no right to love her, no right at all!

Tightening his hands into fists, he felt the need to break something, to destroy something but there was nothing left standing around him. Everything had turned into ash. There was nothing to break, nothing to let him release this built up anger or even let his bewilderment lash out for a second. Seiya was left with his emotions, and he decided to release one feeling, sadness and regret for creating something to hurt Usagi. A single tear slipped from his eye and dropped to the ground, breaking like a glass.

"What should I do now, Light? What must I do to ask for your forgiveness…?" Seiya asked in agony.

The Dark Lord has never felt so lost before. He knew that he doesn't deserve her forgiveness no matter what he does or how many times he apologizes. Now, he couldn't even bring himself to go back and face her, let alone ask for her forgiveness.

But, there was one thing he could do now. That was to release her soul so she could get back her long deserved freedom and power. But, he couldn't do it by destroying the Crystalline of Eternity with Doom-will since the powerful Hell sword will just eradicate her soul along with the divinity chamber. In the end, he was left with no other choice but to exchange part of his soul for hers, which only means that they could never see each other again.

Seiya almost laugh out loud at the thought of leaving Usagi and breaking his promise. Wasn't he the great Dark Lord? Someone who can take down anyone, any souls and accomplish anything, but yet he couldn't even keep a single promise with the girl he loved?

How ridiculous.

Yet again, fate was right.

It was true that Dark and Light can never coexist, no matter how hard or long they struggle to be together.

This ending was inevitable.

It was Fate's victory.

She won the thousand year's old battle against the undefeated Dark Lord. For once, the Hell King kept quiet, stopping his aggression over fate just to glimpse down at the Millennium Star.

The beautiful ring, he noticed, seemed to have lost its shine. It wasn't shimmering brilliantly anymore, as if something important was broken from its inside.

Slowly, he wrapped his fingers around the Millennium Star, bringing it to his lips.

"Light, is this really the end for us?"

--

* * *

--

"No! No! Let me out! Let me out, Mercury!" Usagi cried, slamming the door desperately with her fists. "Let me go to Seiya! Let me see him! Please…! Let me see him…"

"I'm sorry, Light. It's the order from our lord. We can't allow you to go to Heaven." Ami, from the other side of the door, replied. "So, please understand and stay here for the time being."

"You don't understand, Mercury! My soul has returned… It came back… It's not supposed to… It's not supposed to come back…" Usagi's cries slowly died down as she fell onto her knees while muttering something which Ami couldn't make out from the outside.

The priestess of the time sighed, turning to her side only to find Taiki standing at the end of the hallway.

"How is Usagi doing?" Taiki approaching his wife asked in concern.

Ami shook her head, "No good. She has been acting like this ever since her soul came back. What about your side? How is Artemis?"

"Same. Still as persistent as always… He wants to see Seiya as much as Usagi does. But he'll be fine with Venus by his side. It's Usagi that I'm worried about. I heard that she hasn't had a proper meal for days."

"No, to be precise, it's a week." Ami replied, looking back at the locked door and finding it odd that Usagi had turned awkwardly quiet.

The couple glimpsed at one another before Ami gave the door a couple of light knocks, asking. "Light, are you alright?"

A minute passed, but there was still no response.

Concerned, Ami quickly unlocked the door, pushing it open just to find Usagi lying unconsciously on the carpeted floor.

They called out to her name together and immediately dropped down to her side to check on her condition.

"Wh-what is happening?" An anxious voice from behind was heard asking.

The couple turned, finding Michiru standing behind them, her face contorted with worries. "What happened to Light? Is she alright?"

"Her pulse is steady. But, we'll need to do a thorough check on her for further details…" Taiki concluded, carrying Usagi into his arms as they hurried over to the medical room.

--

* * *

--

"Light… Usagi…"

Usagi awoke to the many voices calling her name. She slowly opened her eyes, finding the many pair of familiar faces smiling down at her.

"Light-chan, you are awake!" Minako was the first to burst out happily.

Usagi blinked, pushing herself up into a sitting position. She made a quick glance around the room, realizing that her friends had assembled themselves around her, each holding onto a cheery look. Still in daze, she couldn't understand the situation at all. Why was everyone here? She glimpsed at her five generals friends then finally at Minako before realizing that the person she wanted to see most wasn't there.

"Seiya! Where's Seiya?!" Usagi grasped onto Ami's hand asked desperately.

"Light, please calm down…" Her friends consoled together.

"No! Where's Seiya? He promised to be back… He promised! But he isn't showing up in my dream anymore! I want Seiya! I want to see him!" Usagi insisted with tears trailing off her cheeks.

She was dying with worries since he hasn't been visiting her in her sleep lately or came back to her as promise despite the countless time she has cried out his name. He was never there. Only her soul return, which she knew it shouldn't have. A thousand years ago, when she sacrificed her spirit core to escape from Heaven, she had prepared to live a life without one for eternity. She didn't mind living without her power or struggling to sustain her freedom, as long as she could be with Seiya. But now, he was gone! She couldn't even feel his existence anymore. Why? What have happened to him?

Yaten, Haruka and Taiki looked at each other in distress. None of them seemed to know how to comfort Usagi anymore. Like her, they too wanted their friend and lord back. But they couldn't possibly go against their lord's will and bring him back to Usagi, can they?

"Light-chan, you shouldn't be crying... It's not good for the baby." Minako consoled thoughtfully.

Usagi's eyes widened in surprise as her sniffs softened into a low murmur. "Baby?"

Judging from her shock face, they could immediately tell that Usagi knew nothing about her own pregnancy.

Ami sighed at her oblivious, "Yes, Light. You're pregnant with our lord's child."

"You are going to be a mother! You are going to be a mother, Light-chan!" Minako jumped in and exclaimed happily.

"Congratulation, Usagi!" Yaten, Haruka and Taiki exclaimed together with a smile.

Usagi didn't say anything. She just sat there staring blankly at the people around her as the news sunk in. She was pregnant? She was actually carrying Seiya's child? Wow. How unbelievable. Obviously, she didn't know how she should be reacting now. She should be delighted to be pregnant with the Dark Lord's child, shouldn't she? Yet, her emotions couldn't be described as happiness of any sort. She had no idea what to tell Seiya or how he would react if he learnt about her pregnancy. Would he accept the baby? Or would he hate her after knowing that she's pregnant?

But, all these questions weren't the main issues she was concerned about. She would rather be hated by him than to learn that he would never return. Regardless the situation, the Dark Lord's safety and happiness would always stay as her priority. Whether she was pregnant or not, she definitely didn't want anything bad to happen to him.

Calming down by a little, Usagi finally looked down at her abdomen. She placed her hands over it, absorbing the wonderful warmth from it's within. Inside, the small existence gave off a pleasant yet powerful sensation. It felt so much like its father, gentle but with a sense of dominancy. It was as if a part of him was embracing her from within which made Usagi smiled lightly for the first time.

At that moment, she found herself falling in love with it already.

Everyone turned their attention to Usagi's smile, taken aback by her beautiful expression. Definitely, they couldn't remember her smiling this sweetly ever since the Dark Lord left. Maybe, the pregnancy had came at the right time despite the absent of their lord.

Then, a sudden harsh opening of the door interrupted everyone thoughts.

"Is it true?! Is it true that Light-hime is pregnant?!" Hermes stomping into the room exclaimed in astonishment.

He pushed past Yaten and Haruka and reached out for Usagi, grabbing onto her hands and asking frantically, "Light-hime! What naughty things have our lord done to you to make such unspeakable thing happen…?!"

Taiki and Haruka sighed together, but made no comment.

Usagi just stared bashfully at Hermes, not knowing how she should be answering to his question.

"Hold no fear, Light-hime! You can always tell me! I, the Grim Reaper, will bring you justice and punished the evil lord that did this to you!" Hermes declared dramatically.

"You punish Seiya?" Yaten eyed doubtfully at Hermes, shaking his head at his ridiculous claim.

"Of course! Even though our lord is the Great Dark Lord, it doesn't mean he has the right to violate the beautiful Light-hime…"

"Will you just shut up?!" Ami punched Hermes on the head out of irritation.

"Ouch! That hurt! Why did you do that for?" He shrieked at her while rubbing his head painfully.

"For being a fool, obviously." Ami answered simply, starting her usual row with Hermes.

"Hmmm… I wonder how Dark-sama and Light-chan's newborn is going to be like." Minako voiced innocently, interrupting the on-going conflict.

Everyone except Usagi exchanged doubtful glance among themselves, each sharing the same deliberation. Clearly, this new birth is going to be anything but the ordinary, and the thought of having another being that resemble the fearsome Dark Lord was indeed a scary prospect. For the good of all existence, there was no need for two Seiya as one Dark Lord was sufficient enough to terrify the world for another thousand years or so. Having another one could be a whole lot worse.

On the other hand, Usagi was too preoccupied with her own thoughts to notice the tense atmosphere that had just arose around her. She simply couldn't stop thinking about raising a child with Seiya. He'd be a magnificent father, she was sure about it. And, as a mother, she would tell her child all the wonderful stories about its father and how very cool and handsome he really was.

"A baby girl will be really sweet…" Michiru commented with a smile, interrupting Usagi's train of thoughts. "I'm sure our lord will be delighted to have a child who looks as beautiful as you, Light."

A smile remained across Usagi's face at the comment. She continued to look down, touching her stomach gingerly with her fingertips. "But, my intuition tells me that it's going to be a baby boy. And I'll be extremely happy if he'll grow up to be as handsome as Seiya."

"NOOOOOO! That would totally crush my dream of having a little hime(princess) to play with!!" Hermes exclaimed aloud.

Then, to everyone surprise, Hermes turned his attention over to Minako and grasped onto her hands.

"Venus-chan, please tell me that you are carrying a baby hime! I definitely don't want a little Artemis! It'll be a nightmare!!" Hermes exclaimed, pointing his index at Yaten.

Minako just grinned nervously back at Hermes, foreseeing the coming commotion.

"What do you think you are doing with my wife, Hermes?!" A black silhouette appearing from the back of Hermes' growled.

Hermes glanced over his shoulder and smiled childishly at the angry man glaring down at him. "Hey, nice to meet you, Artemis…"

"Nice to meet you too, Hermes." Yaten played along with a fake grin. "Now, will you kindly take you hands off Venus before I start ripping your limbs off and feeding them to Cerberus?"

Almost everyone sighed at the on-going fight between Yaten and Hermes. It was nothing surprising; since, the two of them fought almost everyday over Minako till everyone eventually turned tired on trying to stop them. But, they couldn't just ignore their conflict this time round, considering the fact that they were currently disturbing Usagi's essential rest.

It took both Taiki and Haruka to separate and haul the two men out of the room.

"What a mess." Michiru commented as she shut the door, cutting her friends' yells and screams.

"I'm sorry, Light-chan. Ever since Dark-sama left, Artemis has been acting insensitively…" Minako muttered an apology in a relatively sad tone.

Michiru walked over to Minako and patted her lightly on the shoulder in the attempt to console her friend. "Don't worry, Venus. I'm sure everything will be solved once our lord returns…"

"He's not coming back."

Everyone turned over to Usagi, confused by her remarks. They peered at her, waiting for more explanation, but she just kept staring down and it didn't look like she was going to speak anytime soon.

Then, they saw her tightening her fists and clutching onto the blanket. "Seiya is not coming back. He can't, not after the scarification he made to revive my power…"

Usagi bit her lips and ignored that startled looks her friends were wearing. She couldn't concentrate on the things that were happening around her anymore, not when she was struggling to keep her voice and tears under control.

Of course, it wasn't easy.

The fact that he had chose to sacrifice himself for her hurts! It hurts terribly!

"That baka…" Usagi muttered, her voice rising steadily. "Why does he keep doing this?! Always running off alone and trying to protect me… I don't want that at all! I just want to be together... with him… Seiya, why? Why can't you understand this…?"

Usagi sobbed, bending over and choking on her tears as her friends hurried over to her side. She was sure her friends have been speaking for a while. She had watched their lips moved, but none of their words had been audible under her weep. Shutting her eyes, she took in a deep breath in the attempt to stop her tears. It was then when she realized how very sick and tired she was of waiting for someone who will never return. She couldn't stand the concept of sitting around and wasting anymore time crying over the lost of her lover any longer.

She wanted to do something to get him back!

But, as much as she wanted to, her friends will never agree to bring her along even if she had managed to convince them to go against the Dark Lord's order and invade into Heaven. They would never risk putting her into danger or to disobeying their lord's final statement to take care of her. But, all these weren't going to stop her from wanting to get her lover back. Not this time round…

Eventually, her cries died down as she reopened her eyes with a much calmer expression. She continued to remain quiet, hearing Ami's plan to attack into Heaven. As expected, they had left her out of the dangerous invasion. Yet again, Usagi was forced to wait in a safe corner, while her friends charged straight into the danger zone. There was no way she was going to agree with this.

"Mercury…" A soft murmur interrupted Ami's instruction to Michiru.

Ami turned to face the source of the call and met Usagi in the eyes.

Usagi smiled calmly at her, asking. "Your father… You want to save him, don't you?"

For the first time, the cool and composed Mercury actually widened her eyes in shock. She opened her mouth, making the attempt to question her, but she couldn't speak. Her mouth shut for a second before she opened it again, finding her voice to speak.

"H-how did you know?"

"I knew it long ago…" Usagi replied plainly, ignoring that shock look on everyone's faces. She shut her eyes, letting out a deep breath before reopening them.

"Yes, all these while, I was just pretending to be ignorance towards your father's imprisonment, so I could remain by Seiya's side. I was really selfish, wasn't I?" She smiled plainly at Ami who could only stare back at her in shock.

"I am really not as pure and innocent as what everyone claimed, especially when it comes to Seiya. I'll do anything to make him happy, even if it meant to bring tragedies to someone else…" Usagi confessed while shaking her head in disbelief. "The Maiden of the Light is all a lie…"

Ami kept quiet, showing no sign of anger over Usagi's confession. She couldn't flare at Usagi, not after realizing how pure her love was for the Dark Lord. This affection was definitely no lie. To the maiden, the Dark Lord was all that matters and she gave no room for doubts, not even when someone else happiness was put into concern. No, ever since a thousand years ago, there wasn't a 'someone else' to being with. In her mind, there was only the Dark Lord and she'll never compare him with anyone else, and her friends were no exception.

Clearly, no one in the right mind could call such strong devotion a lie.

At least, Ami knew she shouldn't be blaming Usagi. The maiden don't owe her anything, so what rights does she have to demand Usagi to save her father?

"I can lend you my power to free Father Time."

Ami's face shot up at Usagi's, completely caught off guard. Has she heard her right? She was willing to sacrifice part of her power to rescue her father? That wasn't what she had expected to hear, not even close.

"But, in return…"

Usagi hurled the blanket off her and stepped out of the bed. She took a step over to Ami as an iridescent white, glowing aura began to surround her. Soon, beautiful white feathers were seen descending like falling leaves as the maiden released her angelic snow white wings. Minako and Michiru dropped their jaws at the mystical angel before them, unable to believe their eyes, while Ami just stared disbelievingly at the glowing white orb that Usagi had directed to her.

"This is the key to release Father Time." Usagi told Ami. "I'll lend it to you in return for the chance to see Seiya."

--

* * *

--

High above the clouds, Galaxia, the Mother of Heaven, was busy embracing a charming young man who sat soullessly on top of the golden throne. His head was down and his body was leaned against the back of the seat for support.

"_She_ calls you Seiya right?" Galaxia breathed into his ear as she positioned herself onto his laps.

"I like the name... I shall call you that too..."

Her hand soon found its way to his face. Cupping his chin in her fingers, she lifted his face and she stared at him with a satisfied smile. Seiya remained expressionless, his dark blue eyes continued to stare blankly into space, with no hint of any life source.

Everything before him was black.

He couldn't see, couldn't hear and couldn't move.

He couldn't even feel.

"You are fated to be with me, Seiya." Galaxia smirked, brushing her lips lightly against his.

After spending days of intimacy with the Dark Lord, Galaxia finally got used to his terribly cold lips and touch, and nothing was going to keep her from fondling with her handsome prey. The Dark Lord was perfect, someone beyond reach, and Galaxia was positive that she could caress him all day and never get bored of him. Despite his blank expression, everything about him remained deliciously gorgeous, and no matter how many times she peered at him, she was still intrigued by how he looked.

But there was one thing about the Dark Lord that Galaxia couldn't stand looking as her eyes flew displeasingly down at the Millennium Star hanging down from his neck. She frowned at the splendor, pink ring, the only matter that she couldn't possess.

Once again, she reached her hand out for the Millennium Star, but it just sparked a bright pink, sending a painful electrocution and forbidding her touch. She shrieked in pain as she withdrew her hand, clutching it into fist.

"You should belong to me!" Galaxia glared angrily at the Millennium Star before switching her target back to the immobile Dark Lord.

"You too. You belong to me too." She told him while trapping his face between her hands.

Then, she leaned forward for his lips, intending to steal another kiss but a loud explosion coming from the exterior interrupted her intention.

"Looks like Light has come for you…" Galaxia breathed against his lips.

The Dark Lord remained unresponsive. Galaxia peered intimately at him for a while longer before she released her hands against his face, letting his head fall back down. She got off from his laps and stood up, turning around and positioning herself before him.

Bending over, Galaxia kissed him lightly on the cheek, "I'll be back right after I eliminate your precious Light… Do wait for me."

She departed with an evil smirk spread across her face.

--

* * *

--

Before Heaven gate stood a row of divine gods in shock. They were supposed to be on guard, defending the access into Heaven, but all had forgotten their duty to safeguard as they stared startlingly at the army of Hell's inferiors before them. No, they weren't exactly shocked by the mass of dark forces. Instead, they were stunned by the beautiful, winged maiden standing among the troops of enemies.

"Tha-that's the Maiden of the Light. Heaven's Light! Heaven's Light is here!" The divinity gods pointing at Usagi alerted.

Usagi stared uninterestedly at them, watching her comrades launched their first attack on the defenders, opening the Heaven Gate and starting the war.

The maiden expanded her wings, levitating and flying past the battleground. Her eyes wandered conscientiously around the field in hope to spot someone with a long, black ponytail. But instead, she was confronted by a familiar goddess whom she recognized as the Mother of Heaven, Galaxia.

There was a second of intense silence as the two goddesses stared exasperatingly at each other till Galaxia broke it with a fake smile.

"Welcome back to Heaven, Light." Galaxia greeted sarcastically. "It's pretty thoughtful of you to personally return without troubling our troops to come get you."

"Where's Seiya?" Usagi demanded sternly, ignoring her remarks.

"After realizing his love for me, Seiya has decided to stay here in Heaven with me. Of course, he has no interest to see you now." Galaxia lied, smiling pleasantly.

"You're lying!" Usagi shrieked, losing her cool.

As much as she trusted Seiya, it still hurt to be told that he has lost interest in her and has chosen someone else to be with. Furthermore, she couldn't tolerate Galaxia addressing the Dark Lord by the name 'Seiya'. That name belonged to them! She gave it to him and she wouldn't allow any other woman to use it and to call him with such intimacy.

"I'm not lying." Galaxia opposed calmly. "You slept with the Dark Lord, haven't you?"

Usagi kept quiet and glanced away, not intending to answer her question.

"You see, I know the Dark Lord more than you do, Light. He gets and sleeps with any girls he wants. So, what makes you think he'll stay devoted to you especially after you've given him your virginity?" Galaxia questioned slyly.

"Seiya is not like that! I trust him..." Usagi replied bluntly, staring straight into Galaxia's eyes with determination.

"You trust him? Pity, you think he'll still love you after you've slept with him? I'll tell you, Seiya only loves you when you are still a virgin. But that is the past. The truth now is he got bored of you… Seiya doesn't need a child like you. What he really need is a real woman. And unless you can perform better bed tactics, you can never win him back from me, Light." Galaxia giggled.

"What a shame. You are the one who know nothing about Seiya." Usagi replied coolly, surprising Galaxia with her calmness.

This wasn't what she had anticipated to hear. Not even close. She has expected the maiden to cry, yell and scream feebly at her but nothing relatively close seemed to have come out of Usagi's mouth. It was too tranquil to be coming from someone unstably weak and naive as the maiden. Not only did her tone baffle her, but so did the words.

Galaxia clutched her hands into fists, feeling provoked by Usagi's attitude. "How can you assume that I know nothing when I actually met him before you did?!"

"Then, let me ask you…" Usagi smiled lightly, shaking her head at her assumption. "Have you ever seen Seiya smiling sweetly before? Did he show his anxiety and concern whenever you are sad or hurt? Or even recklessly try to protect you when you are in danger?"

Galaxia was caught speechless as she bit her bottom lips, not wanting to answer any of the questions. Because the answer was clear. The Dark Lord never once shows any interest in her, let alone tries to protect or smiles at her.

"The real Seiya has such a beautiful smile. He's overprotective over my feelings and safety, and is always reckless when it comes to protecting me." Usagi answered simply. "He's incredibly sweet, kind, gentle and wonderfully caring, someone I'll never stop loving..."

Usagi smiled to herself at the thought of Seiya, making Galaxia boiled with anger. She hated the blissful look on the maiden's face. And, thinking back, she recalled the Dark Lord holding the same blissful expression when he was thinking about the maiden.

How unforgivable! They aren't supposed to be smiling the same smile and saying the same things. It was just wrong! To begin with, the Dark Lord and the Maiden of the Light aren't even supposed to be together. Yet, here they are, trying so hard to achieve the impossible. What nonsense!

"You should just turn back into the tool you once were!" Galaxia unable to suppress her anger any longer finally shouted as she attacked Usagi with a panel of sacred light from above.

"The Millennium Star… it's calling me…"

Those were the last thing Galaxia heard from the maiden before her vanished enigmatically, causing her ray of attack to hit nothing other than the thin air.

--

* * *

--

Usagi found herself being drawn away from the battlefield by a strange force. The intense pink glow around her blinded her vision and she couldn't distinguish her location at all. It was not until she felt her feet touching the ground did the light finally died down.

She opened her eyes slowly and stared at the poorly lit room for a second, letting her eyes adjusted themselves to the dimness. Then when she finally got used to the surrounding, her jaw was seen dropping and her eyes lit up with tears, at the sight before her.

"Se… Seiya! Seiya!" Usagi cried out as she raced down the long hallway, up the stairs and stopped right before the motionless young man seated on top of the throne.

"Seiya…" She whispered his name and reached her hand out to him.

Her hands settled themselves gently against the sides of his face. Tears streamed down from her eyes like endless river when she realized how terribly cold he actually was right now. He felt like a corpse and nothing in him looked alive despite the fact that he was still breathing softly. The Dark Lord wasn't dead. He can never die, and his soul hasn't vanished either. Power and existence weren't the factors that he lost. Instead, he had lost all his memories, emotions and senses in his soul, and he had become nothing more than a living corpse. Right now, not even her light could bring any warmth to him.

"Seiya, it's me, Light… I'm here… We are finally together..." Usagi whispered in between her cries as she lifted his face ever so gently and peered affectionately at him.

He didn't response or budge to her call. His dark blue eyes remained glued blankly down to the floor, showing no sight of awareness. Tears hazed her vision as she peered painfully down at him, anguished by the fact that she couldn't even get him to look at her. Her mind flew to the memory of him telling her that she was capable of making him do anything she wanted him to, but that ability was of no use now. He couldn't even take note of the obvious misery she displayed or hear her distressed cries, let alone submit to her wishes.

"Seiya, please… please answer me." Usagi pleaded, wrapping her arms around his head and drawing him into her chest. She hugged him tightly, holding him as close as she could in hope that he would response to her plead, but he wasn't hugging her back like how he normally would. Instead, he just sat there, perfectly still and quiet as she sobbed agonizingly with him in her arms.

Her heart hurt, it hurt terribly. She has been through the worse with him, but nothing they have gone through hurt as bad as this one. She would rather wait another thousand years for him than to see him in such a lifeless state. She felt useless. He had sacrificed so much to save her but yet, there wasn't one thing she could do to help him through his present torment.

"Seiya, what can I do to see your smile again? What am I supposed to do now?" Usagi asked in a tiny voice, releasing him ever so lightly to settle her forehead against his. She stayed at that lovely posture for several quiet minutes, inhaling the air he was breathing.

"Fate was right. I shouldn't have existed." Usagi breathed against his lips, her voice filled with sorrow. "Seiya… Do you know that the world will actually be a much better place without my existence? There will be no greed, no war and no one will have to suffer… No one… Not you, not hell, not heaven… There will be peace, and everyone can live a life free from hatred. And, you wouldn't have to suffer through all these if there wasn't a Maiden of the Light…"

"... I know what I'm supposed to do now."

She closed her eyes, shedding the last tears as her body began to glow intensely, blinding the troops of divinity gods and Galaxia who had just arrived to the scene. The fierce glow had shut off all the yells and screams that were currently taking place, canceling out the scene of the hell generals arriving through the windows and ceiling. Their shout of denial was tuned off as everything eventually went white.

Her body was seen slowly dispersing into golden sparkles as she picked up the Millennium Star and gazed appreciatively at it. The pink ring shone brightly against her steady stare seemingly to be communicating with her.

"Thank you. Please continue to shine by him and bring him happiness." Usagi prayed softly.

She gently released the Millennium Star and moved her hand up to the side of his face, peering at him for the final time.

"Seiya, I'll give you back all that you've lost and everything shall be rewritten without my existence…" She informed him with a light smile.

There was so much more she wanted to tell him, so much more she wanted to say, but she was running out of time. She couldn't even tell him how very blissful and happy she was whenever he was by her side. He had created many beautiful memories for her, and she wanted to thank him for all these great moments. But, there was no time left for any more regards other than a farewell.

"This time… It's really a goodbye…" Usagi looked down at him with a small smile, knowing all too well that smiling was the last thing she felt like doing at the moment. But, she didn't want him to see her cry. Shouldn't their last moment together be a happy one?

"Li-Light…"

Usagi's eyes shot up when she saw Seiya lips moved by a centimeter. He still wasn't looking at her, still wasn't moving. Usagi continued to stare at him in disbelief. She watched much to her devastation, as a tiny tear escaped and slid down from the side of his right eye, landing itself onto the back of her hardly visible fingers.

"Seiya…" Usagi sniffed, covering her mouth with her hand.

His single tears brought a swamp of fresh tears into her eyes, but she didn't bother clearing them. She couldn't. She doesn't have much time left to even sort out all these painful emotions stinging her from the inside.

Before the last sparkle of light faded away from her body, Usagi leaned forward and pressed her lips against his, kissing him for the last time.

"I love you, Seiya."

The scene was last seen getting consumed by a strong burst of pink light.

"… _Sayonara, my beautiful love story." _

--

* * *

--

How do you like this chapter? What do you think? Is this the end of the Love Legend? I will just leave you guys lingering here for a while. I apologized to all those fans and readers who requested this chapter to be up on their birthdays, but I couldn't deliver it on time. And thank you for all the past reviews! Hope you lovely readers will write review for this chapter too. I think I'll wait for this story to hit 400 reviews (at least), before I start deciding on what to do with TLL… Peace…

So, do **review**! Thank you for reading! And many love to all my fans and readers!


	34. The Legend Never Dies

Last Chapter:

_Usagi's eyes shot up when she saw Seiya lips moved by a centimeter. He still wasn't looking at her, still wasn't moving. Usagi continued to stare at him in disbelief. She watched much to her devastation, as a tiny tear escaped and slid down from the side of his right eye, landing itself onto the back of her hardly visible fingers._

"_Seiya…" Usagi sniffed, covering her mouth with her hand._

_His single tears brought a swamp of fresh tears into her eyes, but she didn't bother clearing them. She couldn't. She doesn't have much time left to even sort out all these painful emotions stinging her from the inside._

_Before the last sparkle of light faded away from her body, Usagi leaned forward and pressed her lips against his, kissing him for the last time._

"_I love you, Seiya."_

_The scene was last seen getting consumed by a strong burst of pink light._

"… _Sayonara, my beautiful love story." _

* * *

**The Legend Never Dies**

Somewhere between Heaven and Hell laid a lovely crystal clear lake with birds fluttering above singing sweet songs with their soft chirps. Young green grass peaked out from the rich brown soil with flowers blooming fully around the area. Rainbow of colors lit up the place adding a strong vibrant of energy. And, right in middle of the horizon was the golden setting sun casting it's reflection against the light blue lake.

This was earth, a truly gorgeous site.

It had been this peaceful and this serene ever since creation. But, did Heaven and Hell really create such a beautiful gap between them just to achieve peace with one another? Or was it just a smoke screen to hide the never existing truth?

No one could give an appropriate answer, and of course, not even the Great Dark Lord could. He had been thinking about it a lot more lately as he visited earth once again.

He stopped by the beautiful lake and glanced over at the setting sun sinking past the horizon. His expression remained blank as though he could not absorb or understand the beauty before him. In this world, with or without the presence of a war, there was nothing that could break his stern expression.

Nothing…

…Except for one sacred phrase that couldn't leave his mind.

"_I love you, Seiya."_

Seiya? Who's Seiya? And what is love?

It was bugging him that he couldn't remember anything beside the soft voice saying those four words, surrounded by nothing but darkness as if veil of shadows had been dragged over his memories. The Dark Lord couldn't even be sure if it was a memory. For all he knew, he could be delusional since such message clearly made no sense to him.

But, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't push that voice away from his head, as if it was permanently inserted into him by someone or something. But by who or what? There wasn't anyone in Heaven or Hell who could even touch him, let alone force such message into him. So, it was just his imagination then?

He was rather lost at this point of time, and it seemed like there was no one who could answer his doubt. He tried asking his comrades about love, but he still couldn't understand the concept despite how hard they tried to send the meaning through either words or actions. Plans to make him fall for the beautiful goddesses from heaven failed when he couldn't even feel anything despite their tedious effort to get his affection. Nothing anyone did seem to affect him which was why he had decided to search for an answer on his own. But he had no idea what to do or where to start finding.

His intuition told him that whatever he was seeking for didn't exist, but his body disagreed. It felt strange, as if someone had cruelly removed a very important part of him from within, and everyday, his body strongly urged him to get it back. But what was it that he craved so badly to see, to hear, to touch and to be with?

He didn't know.

But whatever it was, it was important till the extent that he would visit earth every so often to look for it. He didn't think something this significant to him would be in Heaven, and if he couldn't find it in Hell, there could only be one place in which he hadn't search for, and that was earth.

"It isn't here…" The Dark Lord muttered to himself before glimpsing away from the disappearing sun.

He turned his attention to his left, in time to see an old lady walking out from behind a tree as she sat unsteadily down on the huge rock just by the lakeside. She was accompanied by a group of children that was seen dancing around her in a small circle. They settled down a second later, tugging onto the elder sleeve and bugging her with questions.

"Granny! Granny! What happened to the Maiden of the Light in the end?" One of the little boys asked innocently.

"Did you perish her from the story?" another one asked with enthusiasm.

"_The Maiden of the Light?"_

For the first time, the heartless Dark Lord actually widened his eyes at the name mentioned with interest. Who was this person they were asking about? He definitely didn't remember hearing the name being noted down in both legend or history. She must be a frictional character then; probably made up to satisfy the children's fantasy. But strangely, he found himself terribly interested to know this non-existing character.

The Dark Lord continued to stare at the mysterious old woman, waiting for her to say something, but instead of answering their questions, she lifted her head and glanced over at him.

She smiled at his doubtful expression and asked. "Are you lost, child?"

For a second, there was only silence as the Dark Lord furrowed his brows at the elderly woman. Though the brown scarf that she wore around her head had hid her face well, he could tell that she was smiling warmly at him. The Dark Lord definitely couldn't sense any godly or demonic presence coming from this mysterious elder, and from the look of it, she appeared to hold no difference from an average old lady. But somehow, he knew she wasn't any ordinary mortal. So, who exactly was she?

"Are you the one who called for me?" The Dark Lord asked plainly, taking in the possibility that she might be the one who voiced the four words into his head.

"I don't remember calling you by that name, child." The old lady smiled at his question.

"That name?"

The elder nodded gently, "Yes, child. You have a name, don't you?"

The Dark Lord smirked at her question, finding it ridiculous. "What nonsense. Of course I do. It's-…"

He paused at his midst sentence abruptly, and found himself in a disable state to answer her question. Wasn't _the Dark Lord_ his name? Everyone called him that ever since creation, and there wasn't a soul in legend that didn't know who the Dark Lord was. Yes, that was his name alright. Yet, why? Why couldn't he answer her? Why was he stuck speechless at this simple question?

"_Seiya… Seiya…"_

"This voice…" The Dark Lord stressed.

"Whose voice was it?" The elder asked gently.

Yes, whose voice was it? His right hand instantly flew to his throbbing head as he tried his hardest to keep this sweet voice from vanishing. He didn't know what or who it belonged to, but for some reason, he didn't want it to disappear.

In the end, he still couldn't understand why the voice was so essential to him when all it ever gave him was a headache. But he couldn't help it, not when his body was desperately fighting to keep it alive. And, that name. Why did it sound so beautifully memorable? Yet, there wasn't a single thing in him that said it was ever created.

A small smile that was barely noticeable crossed his face for a split second before he shook his head slowly with complete seriousness returning to his stoic face.

"It doesn't exist…" The Dark Lord replied in a murmur, and the old woman was quiet for a second.

Slowly, she got up from her seat and approached the Dark Lord with the aid of a walking stick.

"If it doesn't exist, then why and who are you searching for…?" She asked casually while stopping a few feet away from him.

The Dark Lord dropped his eyes down at the elder smiling warmly up at him. His expression remained cool and unexpressed like the words she said had no effect on him at all. But, deep inside, he was indeed bothered by her question.

Who was he looking for?

What a question. The Great Dark Lord needed to look for no one. Power, fame, and immortality, he had everything.

Yes, everything except…

"_I love you, Seiya…"_

Love?

He had heard it rung in his head a million times already and yet, his heart would still throb painfully at that phrase. It was a bizarre thing since the Dark Lord was meant to be immune to pain. Besides, he didn't even understand the meaning behind those four words, so there was no reason for him to get affected, was there?

But he was, deeply.

The bitter sting he felt each time the sentence was heard bothered him. As much as the Dark Lord didn't wish to admit it, somehow, he knew he had lost something precious, and it left him with nothing but this particular voice and phrase. He couldn't accept it. He couldn't accept the fact that whatever he lost could never come back which was why he wouldn't give up despite not knowing what or who he was searching for.

"If it exists, I would have found it by now…" The Dark Lord finally replied in a mono-tone.

"But child, haven't you already found it?"

The Dark Lord raised his eyes doubtfully at her, not understanding her question. He watched quietly as the elder lifted her index and pointed at his heart.

"She has always been inside you, hasn't she? All these while, she's right there in you…"

"She…?" The Dark Lord startled, his voice dropping as his heart began to beat faster and faster at the blurry silhouette surfacing in his mind.

The figure that took the form of a young lady was consumed with a layer of black veil, hindering him from distinguishing her features. Despite his effort to clear the mist, the darkness in him refused to vanish. Then, strange images and voices began flowing into his conscious, most of which were scenes that unraveled a young, golden maiden whose face was covered with peach colored smudge.

Who was she?

"_My name is Light… but you can call me Usagi…"_

Light? Usagi? He couldn't recall ever knowing anyone by that name.

Yet strangely, her every giggle and phrase made his heart flutter. This mysterious feeling was new to him, or was it? No, it definitely wasn't. He had felt it before. Now, he was more than certain that the maiden calling out to him was the one he was searching for.

It was the light that he had lost together with the name _Seiya_. An identity that should never had existed.

"Light…?" Seiya breathed her name.

Agony and guilt danced in his dim blue orbs when he realized that he couldn't remember her face. How did she look like when she smiled? What was it that made his heart throb so much whenever she cried? Seiya could feel his knees weakening as his whole world came crashing down on him, crushing his body with its weight. Why was her face covered with a peach colored splotch? Why couldn't he remember her smiles, her tears, and her existence? He had no right to love her, no right at all if he couldn't even recall how she looked like.

He couldn't accept this lost, not when he had promised her that he would return and that they would be together forever. In the end, he couldn't protect her, couldn't keep his promise, and the worse of it all, he couldn't even remember her lovely features.

"Child, you've let me witness such a beautiful promise."

Seiya's eyes immediately flew to the elder's thin lined ones, only to realize that she wasn't looking at him anymore. Instead, she was staring up into the night sky with a warm smile spread across her face. He glanced over to the direction that she was looking and caught the glimpse of the stars shining brightly above, illuminating the sky as tiny diamond-like specks.

His heart thump and his eyes lit up at one pink star that stuck out to him in particular…

It was the Wonder of all Stars, the Millennium Star.

For a minute, all Seiya could do was stare at the beautiful pink sparkle shining brilliantly against the dark hues. Soon, he was seen smiling faintly to himself as he extended his hand to the Millennium Star.

"Return…" Seiya demanded in a soft murmur.

As commanded, the Millennium Star shone another powerful glow before it diminished and fell from the night sky. It left a trail of pink sparkles against the dark heaven as it descended gracefully onto his palm and the story of an untold beginning unraveled itself.

- _A Thousand Years Ago: The Fateful Encounter _-

"Run! Usagi-chan! Bandits! The bandits are here!"

The golden maiden turned towards the source of the cry in time to see her two mortal friends running towards her in panic. They had the most terrifying looks on their faces yet all they could ever think about was to keep their savior out of harms way. None of the villagers could afford to let the bandits harm this beautiful maiden, not when she had unconditionally saved them from a strange disease a month ago. She was like a god to them, and everyone in the village swore they would protect her at all cost.

"What? Bandits?" Usagi shrieked out of concern for their safety. "No, I can't run at a time like this! Let me help…"

"No! You got to get out of here! Quick!" Her friends urged and pushed her.

"I'm not going! I'm not afraid of bandits!" Usagi opposed forcefully.

"Get help! Go to the town and get help!" The shorter girl suggested, hoping that Usagi will buy her idea and leave.

And as expected, the innocent maiden nodded at the suggestion. Thinking that it was the only way to save the defenseless villagers, she rushed into the field and out of the settlement. She remembered a short cut to the town that her friends had shown her a week ago and turned into the forest. The ground was more slippery there though. She was having a harder time trying to remain in an upright position with the wet leaves and grass underneath her feet.

Usagi didn't know how long she had been running or whether she was heading into the right path anymore when she tripped and fell over a small rock in the middle of the road. She bit her lips at the scrape on her knees but decided to ignore it as she got up and ran awkwardly. She was determined to get to the town for help, so as to keep the bandits from doing any harm to the villagers who accepted her in despite her bizarre powers.

Usagi kept her eyes straight ahead, averting the blood that was seeping out of her wounded leg. She smiled gratefully when she saw the familiar path leading out of the forest and started to race down to the light.

But she soon dropped her enthusiasm when she stumbled into an open field filled with corpses. She gasped as her eyes unconsciously followed the line of bodies that stretched into the far distance. A strong gust blew past her, urging her to move forward.

Usagi obediently followed the breeze till she could see an outline of humanly figures among the field of unknown corpse. Growing nauseous from the smell of blood and rot, Usagi covered her nose with both hands while straining her eyes at the five dark silhouettes kneeling before a gigantic rock.

On top of the grey stone stood a dominating man with long, black hair that drifted freely against the breeze. His cold, dark blue eyes glanced expressionlessly down at his inferiors bowing down before him. Usagi noticed the thick metal locks that were chained against his wrists as he raised his right hand in command.

"Move out." He demanded in an eerily cold voice.

"Yes, My Lord." The five generals obeyed at once before they disappeared bizarrely.

Everything once again turned quiet as Usagi continued staring at the mysterious man before her. He didn't seem to have notice her presence as he kept his eyes glued to his cuffed left hand.

Usagi, on the other hand, couldn't keep her eyes off him either. She thought he looked beautiful despite his plain expression and the sun glinting off his dark hair only made him look more ethereal than he already was.

Was he an angel?

But before Usagi could come up with a clearer answer, her heart stopped momentarily upon realizing that he was now staring blankly back at her.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to stare…" Usagi blurted out an apology with a thick blush, not understanding why she was feeling nervous all of a sudden.

He kept quiet at her apology and his face remained inexpressive. This had Usagi wondering how he would look with a smile. Maybe a hundred times more striking than he already was? Wait a minute. What on earth was she thinking? There wasn't any time left for daydreaming. She got a village to save.

But she doubted that she could reach the town in time for help after wasting so much time on getting herself lost and such.

"Bandits have invaded into our village! Could you please help us? Please…" Usagi pleaded him, seeing that he was the only person whom she could ask at a time like this.

The young man remained silent and from the look of it, it didn't seem like he was going to agree to aid her or her village. But Usagi couldn't blame him, since it was pretty absurd if a stranger like him was to agree and help fight off the bandits. Besides, what could one man do against a band of bandit? He would get himself killed.

"I'm sorry for being thoughtless…" Usagi bowed slightly before heading back into the forest where she had came from.

She didn't bother turning back to catch another glimpse of him as she kept on running while praying for the villagers' safety. But her prayers were left unanswered when she gaped much to her agony at the awful state the village was in. A few huts were on fire and the rest destroyed. Men were either harshly beaten up or killed, and women were seized into a big wooden cart.

"Take all their properties! Burn down the houses! Kill the men and take their women!" The leader of the tribe of bandits ordered.

"Yay!" The band of bandit yelled together.

"No, no! Please spare them!" Usagi pleaded and stretched her hands out wide, wanting to protect the family of four behind her.

She refused to run despite the villagers' tedious effort to convince her and soon, her loud protest had caught every one of the bandit's attention as they started to form a circle around her.

The leader immediately dismounted and joined his crowd of subordinates. His eyes doubled their sizes with lust and interest at the beautiful maiden glaring up at him.

"What a beauty…" The leader breathed as he grabbed onto her chin.

Usagi jerked her face out of his hand and looked down, hiding her fear from them.

"You can have me… So, please don't hurt them…" She pleaded softly.

The men stared back at her and chuckled to one another at her plead.

"Fine, fine! Release the other women! We shall all take our turns on this beauty!" The leader ordered while chuckling happily.

He grabbed Usagi by the waist and tossed her over his shoulder, gripping her legs with her upper half dangling on his back. She did not resist and allowed the bandits to throw her into the backseat of the carriage. The leader entered and moved in at her, followed by three other younger bandits.

Usagi could feel the horse carriage setting off unsteadily as she tried backing away from the men laughing wickedly down at her, but she soon realized that there was no escape now. Though she had managed to save the entire village, she couldn't save herself from the coming assault.

Despite so, Usagi held back her tears and looked down, not wanting to look anymore frightened or vulnerable than she already was. They laughed bitterly at her action before the leader reached out and ran his fingers down her lovely face. Usagi flinched at his touch but made no other movement.

"Let's do it here…" The leader decided with a wicked smirk.

Her breathing quickened and her eyes doubled in terror when she felt him ripping the top of the dress she was wearing. Finally, she let out a soft shriek and began to struggle but she couldn't break free from the hands holding onto her hands and legs.

She was frightened, terrified even, as the men continued stripping her. But despite her fright, she didn't shed a tear. She once thought that she could fight back, but bringing harm to others wasn't something Usagi was familiar with. She couldn't and didn't know how to.

The only think she could think of was to shut her eyes, and unexplainably, the bandits back away from her as she did. She heard them screaming followed by several loud bangs before everything turned dead quiet.

"Filthy creatures…" A solemn sounding voice commented.

Usagi's eyes rose, settling on the face of her savior. She gasped when his dim-blue eyes caught her big shock ones. There was no mistake. That long, black hair and sparkling night blue eyes could belong to no other than _him_.

"You..." Usagi startled and her voice dropped as her heart beat faster and faster at his presence.

She glimpsed at herself before clasping her hand over her half opened top in shame. Her mind was blank from confusion and embarrassment as she stared blankly on the ground, not knowing what to do at a situation like this. She should be thanking him already right? But all she could do was shiver as the wind brushed against her near bare body. She couldn't even bring herself to realize the dead bandits around her, let alone react to his sudden appearance.

Then she felt a heavy, leather cover dropped on top of her as she blinked at the black, exclusive coat.

"You can have it." He told her coolly before leaping off the carriage.

Clutching onto his long coat, Usagi crawled back up and chased after him.

"Th-thank you…!" She shouted across to him but he just kept walking, seemingly to be ignoring her.

Usagi quietly trailed behind while draping his oversized coat around her shoulder, realizing that it was big enough to conceal her entire body. She could even smell the pleasant scent of his presence as she grasped onto the lower part of the long suit and lifted it up from the ground. Though it was rather difficult to walk while hauling onto the heavy end, Usagi didn't wish to dirty this exclusive coat of his.

She just kept following him, stopping only when he stopped and moving only when he moved. He seemed to be ignoring her all these while till he finally stopped his step and glanced over his shoulder at her.

"How long are you planning to keep following me, lady?" He asked bluntly.

"Until I find a way to repay you…" Usagi replied shyly but with determination in her eyes.

"Repay me?"

Usagi nodded, "You saved me and the village-…"

"I was just passing by…" He cut in directly.

"But you still saved us! I've got to repay you!" Usagi insisted.

"How? By following me?"

"No, by protecting you!" Usagi burst out immediately.

For the first time, he actually raised his brows at her in surprise, as if he had just heard the most ridiculous thing being blurted out to him. But that rare expression only wavered for a second as he quickly regained the cool composure he normally exhibited, turning away from her while releasing his pair of broad, dark wings.

"Don't bother…"

Usagi dropped her jaw at the sight of the mystical creature before her. She hadn't seen anyone with a pair of black wings before and words can't describe the gorgeousness he appeared to be at that moment. But she wasn't given much time to admire his beauty when he simply set off into the blue heaven with ease.

Usagi pouted, feeling unhappy about his way of escape. She was more than determined to repay him for his kindness and to fly away like this wasn't going to stop her from achieving that goal.

"Hump! I can fly, as well…" She muttered with determination as she released her set of angelic, white wings.

She flapped her wings and chased after him, but he had already flown out of her sight. Unlike her, who was new in flying, he was amazingly skilled. She couldn't catch up with him and, to make matter worse, her inexperience had caused her to lose control of her balance while trying to avoid a fowl of birds.

Usagi soon found herself falling from the sky. She let out a soft shriek as she shut her eyes in preparation for the hard impact. But she felt none, other than someone lifting her into his arms.

Baffled, she opened her eyes only to find the familiar pair of dark blue eyes looking down at her.

"What are you doing?" He asked plainly, switching his view from her face to the white wings behind her.

Usagi gaped at him in surprise before her eyes lit up with excitement, as if she was looking at something utterly amazing.

"I know who you are!" She exclaimed, grasping onto his blouse with enthusiasm sparkling in her eyes. "A guardian angel! You are a guardian angel, am I right?"

"What?"

For once, he looked taken aback by her words. He, the Great Dark Lord, was a guardian angel? Who was she kidding? It seemed to him that she knew nothing about his identity as the ruthless Hell King who only existed to kill and destroy. He was definitely no angel, not to mention one that was created to protect and save lives.

"My name is Light… But you can call me Usagi… everyone here called me that…" She introduced herself cheerily and asked. "What's yours?"

He just stared at her, unsure of how he should be answering the question. No one ever asked for his name. They naturally knew and fear him as the Dark Lord. It was his first time meeting someone who didn't recognize and wasn't afraid of him. He was taken back by her obliviousness and something about her lured his attention making him forget all else.

Who was she, really?

Was she a goddess sent down by heaven to spy on him? It seemed highly possible since only high ranked archangels have the ability to grow broad, strong wings. No, not even powerful angels like them have such beautiful, snow white ones. But, whether she was a goddess or not, she definitely wasn't like any other girl he had met before, and her presence was also warm and comforting even for someone as cold as him.

Not only was her warmth welcoming, she also had a strong hold on him. What else could have made him abandon his initial plan to start another war with Heaven just to save her? For some reason, he felt the urge to just keep her by his side, despite the fact that he knew he couldn't bring her into the battlefield.

"Stay here." He told her firmly as he settled her at the peak of an unknown mountain.

Usagi nodded obediently, oblivious by the war going on beneath her. She watched as the Dark Lord flew downhill and disappeared into the cloudy mist below.

Concerned, Usagi moved front till she was standing at the extreme end of the cliff. The bottom seemed a long way down, but she could still hear crashing noise of blades and blasts. It sounded as if something dangerous was currently taking place below, making Usagi backed away anxiously and wishing that her savior would come back safely.

"It's the Maiden of the Light!"

Usagi spun around at the source of the shout, stunned to find three messenger gods hovering above her. She froze, gaping at them as they approached her. Their initial plan to spy on the Dark Lord was less of a concern now after spotting the Heaven's treasure.

Startling to tremble, she backed away slowly, but one of them caught her by the hand, yanking her over to them. Usagi knew she should be yelling and running already, but she didn't want to leave this place without knowing the safety of her savior.

Usagi kept quiet, despite her unwillingness and fear to follow them back. She didn't want to be used as a tool or to get married to the next King of Heaven. She restrained herself from using her power to escape, fearing that she would alert an army of heavenly gods over to her present location. She had hid her presence well enough so that none of the gods could find her, but all her effort would go into a waste if she was to fall into their trap now.

Using all her available strength, Usagi managed to pull her hand out of the grip, and the next thing she knew, the floor below her gave way as her body fell backward against gravity. Usagi shut her eyes, expecting a long drop, but instead, someone caught her by the waist a second later and held her in a one-sided embrace.

A startled Usagi looked up and found herself staring at a familiar, handsome face. Her worries vanished and she immediately felt at ease. Maybe it was how perfectly his arm fit around her waist, maybe it was the way he embraced her, or maybe it was just his presence alone, but Usagi somehow knew who her savior was even before he spoke.

"Seiya!" She cried as she threw her hands around his neck, much to everyone's surprise.

"Seiya?" The three generals of Hell and Hermes raised their brows and asked together.

Little did they know, Seiya was the name Usagi had came up with after the Dark Lord had refused to tell her his identity. But after noticing that the maiden was actually wearing their lord's suit, the name seemed to be less of a concern now. Somehow, it did send a misleading message that this beautiful maiden was actually the Dark Lord's property. Everyone knew who the Dark Lord and the Maiden of the Light were, but none knew they were lovers; at least, that was how they appeared to be right now.

"You are safe and unhurt! I'm so glad! I'm so glad!" Usagi exclaimed with a bright smile on her face while her eyes were covered with tears of joy and relief.

He smiled faintly at her adorable reaction, making Usagi blushed heavily at the beautiful sight before her. For once, he actually smiled at her. The maiden, however, did not know that this was the first time the Dark Lord had ever smiled, and to top it up, she was actually the one who initiated it.

Her blush grew another time darker when she realized that she was clinging so dearly onto him that they were even close enough to be kissing already. She panicked and quickly withdrew her hands back to herself while shrieking apologies to him at the same time.

She quieted down a second later and mentally scolded herself while avoiding his stare. Thinking back, he had saved her more than twice today. But, it wasn't supposed to be this way. In return, she was supposed to protect him, not the other way round. How was she ever going to repay him now? She couldn't just thank or apologize to him each time he saved or helped her could she?

Seiya, on the other hand, kept quiet and continued staring at the maiden who had suddenly turned serious. He seemed to enjoy watching her change of reaction very much as though he had just found a new toy to play with.

And, as expected, her beautiful face began to turn red as soon as her eyes met his. Feeling fascinated and wanting to find out for himself how warm her skin was, Seiya pressed the side of his face against her cheek in a loving gesture. He could feel the heat increase rapidly when he did, and he smiled. He adored her blush, but decided to move his face away from hers before she burned to death.

"Let me protect you instead…" He breathed into her ear.

Her heart froze for a second before beating faster and faster. His warmth breath tickled the side of her neck as she buried her dark red face into his chest, hoping that no one can spot her anxiety. She wanted to object to his proposal, thinking that it was unfair, but she had lost her voice due to her bashfulness.

"Release the messengers." Seiya told his subordinates, his voice once again cold and unfeeling.

They obeyed and immediately released their grasp on the messenger gods, causing all three of them to fall onto their bottoms in fear. They gaped at the Dark Lord hovering above them in intimidation and saw him raised the Doom-will at them.

"Tell Heaven that the Dark Lord has the Maiden. No one is taking her."

It was this declaration that started the loveliest story, beginning the legend that would live forever.

* * *

Indeed, their story never did end as Seiya stared at the magnificent pink ring on his palm, all the memories with her returning into existence.

"_She's waiting for you, child."_

A powerful gust of breeze blew past him, as if fate was directing him to move forward. His body reacted to the signal and he bolt down the riverside hopefully.

His heart skipped a beat when he spotted a beautiful figure standing at the edge of the lakeside which was bordered by a variety of colorful roses. He froze instantly, mesmerized by the beauty of the golden maiden staring up into the sparkling sky. The moonlight illuminated her face, giving her a fair complexion. The free floating silver stream made her dress appear pure white, and along with her golden hair that sprawled out against the wind, he had almost lost his breath just by looking at her.

She blinked when she spotted him staring. Turning towards him, the golden maiden smiled a sweet, pleasant smile and he blushed faintly at her joyous expression before walking up to her. She watched in surprise as he kneeled down before her and poised the Millennium Star before her left ring finger.

"My precious Light, you may not know or even believe it, but I've been in love with you since the very beginning. You taught me to feel, to smile, and most importantly, to love. I love you, Light. I love everything about you. And, I hope you'll agree to shine by me forever. Marry me?" Seiya asked in such an enchantingly sweet tone that all Usagi could do was to nod at his proposal as her hands flew to her mouth with tears of joy glistening in her eyes.

"Yes." Usagi muttered shyly as she watched him slid the Millennium Star into her left ring finger.

She was only able to gaze at it for a mere second before she was swept off her feet and ensnared in a tight embrace. He carried and swung her around jubilantly before pressing his lips on hers. Her blush deepened as the kiss did, and he continued to hold her in that lovely gesture. To finally win and be together with her made Seiya believed that he was the world most fortunate and blessed man.

He wasn't ready to put her back down though he had reluctantly stopped kissing her to let her catch some air. Usagi peered at him shyly, only daring to look at him after he had tightened his embrace around her waist.

"You might hurt our baby if you're to hold onto me so tightly…" Usagi told him softly with faint blush.

Seiya gaped back at her with waves of shock and confusion flowing in his eyes. She chuckled at his baffled look before leaning forward to whisper something into his ear. He almost dropped her after hearing the news, but managed to hold her there lovingly while smiling delightfully back at her.

He settled her on the floor gently, careful not to hurt her in any possible ways before putting his hand on top of her flat abdomen and exclaimed in wonder.

"Our baby is actually inside you…?"

Usagi nodded with a grin so wide that it made the edge of her lips sting. She hadn't seen the Dark Lord looking so child-like and delighted before, and she felt blissful just by looking at his joyous expression.

"He take after you so much…" Usagi stated happily while placing her hand against her belly.

"He does?" Seiya blinked in surprise, not getting why his fiancée was so certain that the baby inside her was a boy.

She nodded and placed her hand gracefully against his left chest, "To change this world, I wasn't suppose to exist anymore, but you kept me inside here. And like you, this little one along with the Millennium Star protected me… But, I'm no longer needed anywhere and the Maiden of the Light doesn't exist anymore… I'm actually no one now…"

"No, you aren't…"

Usagi's eyes shot up to his, surprised to see him smiling down at her.

"You are my wife, my light, and the future Queen of Hell. And I'll still love you no matter what… and of course, our precious baby too…" He declared in a clear and sincere voice.

Usagi blushed but giggled happily. Though she didn't think that she would become a good queen or mother, she was more than happy that he still loved her despite her lost of identity. She glimpsed down at herself and placed her hand over her belly.

"You heard that Sei-chan? Daddy said he loves you too." She smiled cheerily down and brushed her stomach.

"Sei-chan?" Seiya raised his brows at the name of their baby.

Usagi nodded happily and looked up at him with her big, sparkling eyes, "I'm naming him after you, and I hope he'll grow up to look exactly like you! I can't wait to see him! Sei-chan is going to be so cool!"

Seiya simply stared back her, trying his best to suppress the jealousy growing inside him. He sighed softly at himself. What was he thinking? Getting jealous over his own son, but who could blame him since this was his first time seeing Usagi poured her love and attention over to another guy other than himself.

Deciding to ignore this feeling, Seiya carefully picked Usagi up and startled down the path with her cradled in his arms.

"Seiya! I can walk by myself! I'm not hurt or anything…" Usagi protested with a faint blush.

"It'd be bad if you fall." Seiya opposed while checking for direction to start his flight.

"I won't fall!"

"But you still can't fly very well, can you?"

Usagi pouted at his question, unhappy that she had once again lost a disagreement between them. Even if she hadn't lost her ability to fly, she understood her fiancé well enough to know that he would never let her go flying off alone. But, this was Seiya and his protectiveness, so she wouldn't complain.

"I'm going to carry you around like this for the next nine months." Seiya told her and nodded to himself, thinking that this was one important role of being a good husband.

"Eh?! You can't! It's embarrassing to meet others or to go shopping for baby goods like this!" Usagi squealed, flapping her hands childishly.

"No, no. Safety is our biggest priority."

Love endlessly flowed between them even though they were arguing while they flew past the bright full moon. Throughout their journey, the Millennium Star continued to sparkle brilliantly against the night sky, as people gathered on the ground to admire the beautiful pink light flying across the dark sky.

"Look! A shooting star!"

Everyone immediately closed their eyes and put their hands together to make a wish. The scene seemed perfect and, like all fairytales must do, the Love Legend did end with a happily ever after.

Or did it?

- Years Later -

Usagi wandered impatiently outside the entrance of the Hell Gate, waiting for the return of her husband and son. Like usual, Seiya had taken little Sei for their weekly flying lesson, leaving Usagi back at home. Though she was well aware of her husband's ability to protect himself and their son, Usagi still didn't like the idea of not knowing where they were or what was happening to them.

"Please calm down, Your Highness. Nothing bad is going to happen to our lord and prince." Pluto, the Hell Breaker, tried consoling her worried queen.

"But they are taking longer than usual." Usagi explained her worries. "What if they encountered something horrible? Like a demon…"

"That's one dead demon." Pluto commented directly with assurance.

"Relax Light-chan. I'm sure Dark-sama will be back soon." Minako convinced while patting her friend lightly on the shoulder.

"Soo! Soo!" A little boy with short, golden hair exclaimed as he pointed his bow and arrow at Cerberus.

"No, Cupid. No pointing your love arrow at Cerberus." Minako scolded her son.

"No soo?" Cupid asked innocently as he locked his pair of emerald eyes back at his mother.

The little Cupid chuckled when he felt the three-headed hell hound licking him gently. He waved his arms and hugged the enormous dog before sprouting out his tiny wings as he clumsily flew and landed on the back of Cerberus with a happy chuckle. Cerberus barked loudly in excitement before racing into the distance with the baby god of love on its back.

Minako sighed at her son's mischief as she picked up her speed to chase after them.

"It's sure isn't easy being a mother." Pluto commented in a murmur, watching Minako go after her son.

Usagi kept quiet, not knowing whether to agree with the comment. Sure it wasn't easy being a mother of the future King of Hell. But, just like his father, Sei was the sweetest son one would ever want as a mother. Besides, it was her excessive worries that made everything seemed difficult. So, she shouldn't be blaming anyone but herself right?

"Have you seen my wife and son, Usagi?"

Usagi spun around, only to find Yaten standing behind her. He was accompanied by Haruka and Michiru who was carrying their nine months old daughter with them.

"They went off shooting with Cerberus." Usagi replied with a grin and pointed to the north.

"Not again…" Yaten grumbled with a sigh.

And, without further hestiation, he released his translucent wings and set off to retrieve his family.

"Little Cupid sure loves archery." Haruka commented.

"Well, like father, like son…" Michiru added.

"Da Da! Mama!" The little girl in Michiru's arms shouted, asking for attention.

"Little Hera is interested in archery too?" Haruka asked gently, kissing his daughter lovingly on the forehead.

But their sweet moment was soon interrupted by a loud scream and rapid footsteps coming their way. Everyone turned towards the entrance, and as expected, Hermes popped into their sight while chasing after a little girl who was reading a book.

"Nike-chan, don't you want to play with Uncle Hermes?" Hermes pestered childishly.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Hermes. But, mother ordered me to stay away from you." The little girl with short auburn hair replied politely while lowering her book to glimpse at her uncle.

"_Nike, also known as the goddess of victory, was the daughter of Ami and Taiki." _

"Mercury is right! Nike-chan shouldn't be anywhere near you. She should be playing with me instead." Eris appearing into the scene stated.

"Konnichiwa Eris-san." Nike greeted courteously with a light bow.

"Konnichiwa, Nike-chan. Come! Let Onii-chan teach you the proper way to dissect bodies while they are still alive…"

"Don't influence her with your sadist hobby, Eris." Nyx voiced, knocking Eris on the back of his head.

"I agree with you Nyx! Nike-chan should be learning the proper way of sex first!" Hermes added randomly.

Nike blinked at the three adults quarrelling, not understanding their dispute. She spun around and smiled upon noticing Usagi waving cheerily at her.

"Konnichiwa, Your Highness, Uranus-san, Gaia-san, Pluto-san." Nike ran out of the entrance and bowed politely to her queen and the three superiors.

"Konnichiwa, Nike-chan. What are you reading?" Usagi asked, patting the little girl on her head.

"Your Highness, it's the Love Legend. I like it very much." Nike smiled with a nod.

"Eh? Where did you get that from?"

"A kind old granny gave it to me the other day… she said it's a beautiful story…"

Usagi blinked at her reply, but before she could open her mouth to question further, she was interrupted by a young, familiar voice greeting her from above.

"Okaa-sama!"

All heads turned towards the source of the cry, and immediately everyone except Usagi lowered their heads at the scene of the Dark Lord descending down while carrying his son in his arms.

"Welcome back, My Lord."

"Okaa-sama!"

The little angel with black and white wings flew out of his father's embrace and threw himself into Usagi's chest. He clung onto her possessively before locking his crystal blue eyes at her.

"My Okaa-sama!" He smiled charmingly up at Usagi, making her blush a little at this familiar grin.

Besides the beauitful sky blue eyes in which he had gotten from her, Sei looked no diifferent from Seiya. It was as though she was carrying a little Dark Lord in her arms which made Usagi smiled as she brushed her fingers against his dark, fine hair before kissing him lightly on the forehead.

"Welcome home, Sei-chan."

"Aren't you going to greet me with a kiss too?" Seiya asked, sounding rather dissatisfied.

"Eh?" Usagi freaked out at her husband's request, seeing that everyone was currently looking at them right now.

It was strange that she could openly display her motherly love for Sei, and yet she would turn timid when it came to her affection for Seiya. But lucky for Usagi, Sei cut in with an opposition, hugging his mother tightly.

"No, no! Otou-sama kissed Okaa-sama a lot today! It's Sei's turn now!" Sei cried and gave Usagi a peck on the lips.

Everyone turned away at once, not daring to see their Lord fuming in the background. Usagi, on the other hand, smiled nervously back at her enraged husband as she tried switching the subject.

"Did you have fun flying with your father today, Sei-chan?"

Sei nodded earnestly, "We had lots of fun in Atlantis today! Otou-sama even let me fight a serpent!"

"Seiya!" Usagi halfheartedly scolded her husband for allowing their son to do something this dangerous. Sei had barely turned five and yet he allowed him to get involved in a battle with serpents? How could he?

But, Seiya simply smiled and patted Sei on the head. "He actually did pretty well."

Usagi frowned at him, but her frown soon disappeared when she saw them each taking out a rose and handing them over to her.

She gaped surprisingly at the white roses before switching her view to her husband and son who were now smiling sweetly back at her.

"Forgive me, Light?" Seiya asked softly.

"Okaa-sama, please don't be mad." Sei added thoughtfully.

A small smile instantly flashed across her face at their gifts. Placing her hands around the roses, she brought her nose close to them, taking in the sweet fragrance.

"They are so beautiful." Usagi exclaimed in admiration.

"Not as beautiful as you…" Seiya and Sei said together.

Usagi's face immediately flushed a dark red at their remarks. If she wasn't carrying Sei right now, Usagi swore she would have dug a hole and hid herself from all the giggling that was going on around her. It was embarrassing. How could the both of them just blurt out such sweet things without even blinking?

"Aw, Sei-chan, you take after your father too much." Usagi muttered as she tried to use his little body as a cover to hide her very red face.

"Does that mean I get to marry Okaa-sama when I grow up?" Sei asked hopefully.

The crowd around them immediately dropped their jaws at his proposal, while Seiya simply took his son over from the shock Usagi and declared firmly.

"No, Sei. Your mother is married to me. And, this fact won't change, not even when you grow older."

Sei scowled his best scowl and flailed his arms childishly, "But, I want to marry Okaa-sama! Okaa-sama is going to be my bride!"

"Oh no, this is getting so out of hand." Michiru commented, her face contorted with worries.

"Ya, good thing you gave birth to a daughter." Haruka added, not knowing how he should be dealing with a son who wanted to marry his mother.

They watched as Usagi caringly took Sei over from Seiya, cradling him lovingly to calm him down, while Seiya turned away and groaned, cursing fate for giving them a son who wish to ruin his relationship with Usagi. She just wouldn't give up, would she? It seemed to him that fate would always come up with new ways to try breaking them apart. First, it was Heaven, then the war, and now, this little nemesis that appeared to be the biggest threat among all since the both of them shared the same blood and genes.

Usagi, however, was unaware of Seiya's worries. She didn't think that Sei was serious about wanting to marry her because he was only so young. But as the time passed and as he got older, he began to see Usagi as his ideal lady instead of a motherly figure.

Being an immortal, Usagi won't age, but in exchange, she just seemed to grow prettier as the years passed. She was still as caring, and as sweet, and she remained hopelessly in love with the Dark Lord throughout the passing years. And, no matter how hard Sei tried, he couldn't win Usagi's love over from his father. Regardless of how identical they looked or behaved, Usagi would only see him as a son.

And, though the Dark Lord remained undefeated, with his power growing stronger over the years, Sei was still determined to win Usagi over from him. Because of this determination, the Prince of Hell had gotten so powerful that he was later known as the Nemesis, the God of Retribution, in the later part of the story.

- As the Years Passed -

Seiya held onto Usagi's hand securely, leading her down the crowded path. Many of the townspeople just stood there, their eyes following the attractive pair as they dart past them, seemingly to be in a hurry.

"Seiya, what's wrong?" Usagi asked curiously, not getting why her husband seemed so tense all of a sudden.

"I've got a feeling that we're being watched." Seiya replied as he glanced around the crowd carefully.

"But, we already are…" Usagi pulled onto his sleeve self-consciously, gesturing at the crowd of people looking and whispering about them.

Unlike him, she couldn't ignore the attention that was drawn towards them each time they were on a date. All she ever wanted was to have a peaceful and normal date with Seiya, but no one seemed to be considerate enough to see them as a common couple. They just had to make a big fuss whenever they walked by, and girls would either scream or fawn over her husband in the effort to get his attention.

Usagi grimaced at their behaviors and pressed herself closer against Seiya possessively.

"Shall I carry you?" He asked thoughtfully, thinking that she had got tired of walking.

She shook her head embarrassingly, taking a full step away from him to discourage him from the idea, but he simply yanked her back and protectively draped his arm around her shoulders. He didn't dare to take his eyes off her, knowing how easy it was to lose her if he wasn't careful.

"Please don't wander around the town alone. You'll get kidnapped." Seiya murmured.

"I won't! No one would ever want to kidnap me." She replied, smiling innocently.

Seiya simply sighed at her obliviousness, "Believe me. I would know. Like just the other day, you gratefully allow yourself to get abducted by Sei while I was out. How great. To think I almost lost my wife to my own son."

Even Usagi could tell jealousy coating every word that had just drifted out of his mouth. But instead of feeling upset over his discomfort, Usagi giggled and pressed herself closer against Seiya. It was an absurd thing, but she liked how easily he would get jealous over her possession. Maybe she thought that it was only fair that he would, since she wouldn't be the only one feeling this way most of the time.

"You know that I'll always love you." She reminded him.

"More or less than you love Sei?" He asked in an almost bitter tone.

She immediately stopped her step and giggled at his worries much to his surprise. Seiya threw her a baffled look, clearly not getting her joyous reaction. Here he was worrying about how he should be handling a son who was always trying to steal her away, and there she was laughing at his uneasiness. He couldn't see how she could be so happy over the situation unless she wanted to go with Sei instead.

"You are jealous! You are actually jealous over your own son! That's so cute of you!" Usagi laughed and threw herself at him, clinging onto him with a wide, blissful smile spread across her face.

"There's nothing cute!" Seiya opposed with a light blush before sighing. "Why am I always the only one getting jealous?"

Usagi giggled and hopped up to the tips of her toes, surprising him with a light kiss on the lips. She pulled away from him a second later and smiled sweetly up at him.

"Don't worry neh! I'll always love you more than anyone or anything in the whole wide world! And no one can ever change that…"

He grinned at her confession, "Well, I love you more than you do for me…"

"No, that's not true! I love you mor-…"

Her opposition was cut off when she felt his lips crashing into hers. She didn't even have the time to close her eyes at the surprise kiss and her gasp was still audible to those around them. For a moment, her arms hovered awkwardly in the air before she found their resting place around his shoulders as Seiya continued to caress her face with gentle kisses. She wasn't even aware that she wasn't breathing until he pulled away, and she was left choking for air.

Her face felt hot from the kisses as she covered her cheeks in humiliation.

Seiya chuckled and stared at his wife in amusement, "You still blush as though it was our first time kissing."

Usagi pouted, "You are still teasing me as if we had just begun dating."

"That's because you are so adorable… especially in bed…" He replied softly with a mischievous grin.

Usagi's blush grew a hundred times thicker, and besides hiding her face behind her hands, she didn't know what else she could do to defend herself. He sure knew the best way to embarrassed her by saying things like that, and she couldn't understand why he'd never get sick or tired of teasing her. Shouldn't he get bored of seeing her dark red face already?

But Seiya simply smiled, apparently finding her reaction adorable. Just when he was about to bent forward for another kiss, Usagi jerked away at the sound of people whistling at them.

She gasped nervously at the crowd staring intensely at them and immediately hid herself behind Seiya. Seiya laughed, not understanding why a kiss seemed unacceptable in front of others to her. To him, it was perfectly normal for a couple to get engaged in a kiss, but he wasn't complaining since he adored her timidity as well.

"Can we go now? Can we go now?" Usagi urged, still partially hiding behind him.

She was feeling so embarrassed that she hadn't notice her five friends giggling at her among the crowd or an old granny smiling down at them from a balcony two blocks away.

"An happily ever after huh…?" The elder murmured.

"Like I'll ever let that happen…"

The elder turned toward the source of the voice and smiled at the charming young man with his long, black hair tied back into a low ponytail. His features were identical to the Dark Lord's except for his sky blue eyes and the colors of his wings, black on the left and white on the right.

"It hasn't ended, has it?" Sei asked, smiling confidently down at the elder.

"No, child. This is just the beginning..."

"Hmm… That mean there's still a chance for me... Well, I'll see you around, _Great Fate."_ He departed as he leaped off the building to join the crowd.

She smiled and continued to watch over her children from above. Yes, their destiny had changed. But, just like the beautiful Millennium Star, their love would forever shine upon their lives, indicating a wonderful beginning and a legend that will never die.

* * *

Yes! I've officially finished this story, and I hope all readers will review and tell me your thoughts for the entire story. There are two epilogues added into this chapter though. Still, I might post extra scenes and stuffs for this story but it should be in one-shot.

Additional update: Do check out the story site for all the new images that we have done :)!

Once again, I thank you all for reading the story! I hope that the Love Legend and the pairing of Sei-Usa will continue to stay in your heart.

Happy 2009 everyone!


	35. Special Edition: To Be Together Forever

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A/N: This is a special chapter that includes extra scenes/stories from the final chapter of the Love Legend. I've decided to write these extras upon readers' request and to celebrate its 2nd anniversary. I hope you haven't forgotten the story and everyone would enjoy this :]! For all my faithful readers/fans out there, not forgetting, the many Seiya and Usagi's supporters, I dedicate this chapter to you. Please enjoy the special edition of the Love Legend.

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**To Be Together Forever**

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"Seiya, wake up."

The sweet voice whispering into his ear awoke him. Seiya recognized that lovely morning call, and immediately knew who it was, but decided not to submit to the request so easily. It would take more than just sweet whispers to wake him up as he gently locked his arms around his beautiful fiancée and trapped her back down in a lying position.

"Seiya!"

He heard her calling out to him in displease as she tried to struggle out of his embrace. Her attempt to escape from him seemed to amuse him as he smiled quietly to himself, knowing that she was unable to move from where she was. Nevertheless, she was determined to wake him up as she pressed her hands against his bare chest and tried shoving him away without any avail.

Seiya was trying his hardest to suppress himself from laughing aloud when she dropped back down in defeat on her tenth attempt. Teasing her like that every morning just seemed too fun for him to stop. He liked the way she whispered his name ever so sweetly, the way she struggled helplessly to break from his embrace, and the way she kissed him in defeat as the last resort to wake him up.

As soon as he felt her lips pressed against his, he opened his eyes to see Usagi lying before him as beautiful as ever, her eyes shining brightly with joy and pure innocence. She opened her mouth to greet him but she was cut off when his lips came crushing back into hers. Seiya placed one hand behind her head and the other on her back, pulling her closer to deepen the kiss. His tongue parted her lips effortlessly, and she laid there flabbergasted.

He reluctantly pulled away when she gasped for air and giggled at her deep red face. Usagi, on the other hand, didn't seem very pleased to realize that he was teasing her again, despite how much she adored his charming smile.

"Seiya! Doing things like that each morning isn't funny!" She scolded her fiancé half-heartedly.

But as usual, it didn't take her very long to forgive him as he greeted her back with an apology, smiling ever so charmingly at the same time.

"Good morning, my love. Sorry for startling you like that. I couldn't help it when you always look so beautiful in the morning."

Usagi flushed at his remark, immediately dropping her mere anger. He sure knew how to make her face burnt every morning by saying things like that. Not just the morning actually, but whenever he grabbed the opportunity to embarrass her during the day, as well as in the night. She didn't know how, but he seemed to hold the ability to create amazingly sweet statement to tease her or ask for her forgiveness after he had done teasing her. But, the worse of it all was that no matter how many sweet things he told her, she still managed to turn red. At times, Usagi wished she wasn't so shy around him so he wouldn't always be the only one teasing and laughing at her.

Usagi was determined to get back on him one day though she knew that it was near impossible to make the arrogant Dark Lord blushed and get embarrassed by the thing she does. She sighed quietly, deciding to drop the matter for the time being as she smiled sweetly down at him.

Little to her knowledge, Seiya's heart did speed up by a bit when he saw her lovely smile. She probably didn't realize how wonderfully beautiful she looked at that moment, or to be exact, every single morning, day, and night. He didn't bother knowing how many men would die to have a future spouse like her to sleep by their side during the night and wake them up during the day, so long as he knew that he was the only one who could have her in the end.

The Dark Lord was serious about eradicating any men who dared try stealing his beautiful maiden away. To have Usagi by his side was the biggest blessing fate could ever grant him after winning the thousand years of battle between them. But she ought to be a sore loser for making him realize how irresistibly adorable his future bride was, and yet not allowing him to touch her much for the next seven month or so. Since Usagi was carrying his first child, he didn't want to hurt her or their unborn infant, but it was getting harder to hold back his lust when she was always looking so temptingly sweet in the morning, and awfully alluring in the night.

Seiya watched as the thin stripe of her night gown fell off from her left shoulder, showing him her cleavage, as she cocked her head innocently at him. He sighed heavily and looked away while putting the stripe back in place. Though he was reluctant, he got to get her away from him fast before he lost control of himself and attacked her there and then.

"Light, I've promised to take you out on a date today, haven't I? You should start preparing." Seiya told her with a smile.

Usagi nodded, smiling happily. "I'm so happy that you remembered. I thought you might have forgotten because you were so busy these past few days."

"This will be our first date. How could I possibly forget something that important?" Seiya reminded as he gently kissed her on the forehead.

Usagi giggled joyously, trapping his face between her hands, "So, you don't have to go govern the realm today? You can actually be mine for the whole day?"

Seiya laughed at her remarks, obviously finding her adorable for saying things like that. He held onto her gently by the wrists and planted a kiss on the back of her hand, "I'm forever yours, silly. Not just today…"

"Really?" Usagi smiled blissfully at him before she tugged him closer to her chest and hugged him there. "Thank you, Seiya! I love you!"

"I could tell you the same thing…" He breathed against her soft breasts, entranced by her words and the position he was stuck in.

So much for trying to be thoughtful and avoid much intimacy with her, Seiya couldn't bring himself to back away from her now when she had unintentionally seduced him with such an intimate embrace. Acting on the strong emotion he felt, he grabbed her gently by the waist, flipping her over so he was on top of her instead of the other way round. He acted quickly, lowering himself towards Usagi before she could even react.

His lips were soon pressed against the side of her neck, making her heart beat uncontrollably. She wiggled slightly, looking a bit uncomfortable with him hovering over her body, but he moved his hands and wrapped his fingers around her wrists. In a quick motion, he had her hands pinned helplessly above her head, holding her there gently.

"Seiya…" Usagi moaned his name in surprise.

"Mmm?" He mumbled, pressing his lips against her collarbone.

He remained there until he heard her gasping and felt her making a feeble attempt to escape before he continued leaving a path of kisses up her neck. He stopped kissing her for a brief moment and with a flick of his head, his eyes were back to hers. He could see the blush that covered her face doubled in darkness, and he couldn't fight back the smile that edged its way across his face at her adorable expression.

Usagi gazed back at him, wordlessly begging him to let her go, but he just looked back at her mischievously before bending his head down. He kept his face less than an inch from hers, letting his warm breath tickled her.

"I'll love and cherish you for eternity… and even if you beg me to, I would never let you leave me, my Light." Seiya breathed against her lips.

Usagi was stunned despite it wasn't his first time expressing his love for her. Strangely, she would never get tired of hearing those words, no matter how many times he said them. It just made her felt so warm and happy whenever he told her things like that as she smiled blissfully to herself once again.

"I'd never want to leave you too." She admitted in a small voice.

Seiya could only smile happily back at her response. Once again, she had successful lured his affection, leaving him with a need to kiss those soft lips he had been attached to a minute ago. He moved his hands away from her wrists, releasing her from that restrained position, as he ran the side of his fingers down her rosy cheek, admiring her beauty.

Just when he was about to bent over for another kiss, Usagi covered his mouth with both her hands as soon as she heard a knocking sound coming from the door.

"Do-Door… Someone at the door…" She pointed out anxiously.

Seiya gazed unhappily back at his fiancée before he turned away and groaned, murmuring various ways to kill whoever that was currently by the door.

"Who the hell is it?!" He snapped, sitting back up in irritation.

"My Lord, it's me, Mercury." The girl outside declared aloud.

The Dark Lord blinked, feeling a little surprise to find that it was his faithful right-hand man who interrupted his moment with Usagi. Out of all his comrades, this was her first time disturbing him at the most inappropriate time, and knowing her, she would never trouble him with unnecessary issue unless it was important.

Seiya sighed wearily, dropping his anger as he permitted his assistant to enter.

"Come in."

The soft click of the lock sounded as one of the two large doors opened. Ami, accompanied by two servants, and Hermes stepped into the over-sized room.

"Greetings, My Lord." Ami and the two servants greeted with a bow.

"Good morning, My Lord, and Light-hime. The both of you are still as lovey-dovey as ever. We are so sorry to be disturbing at such an inappropriate time." Hermes apologized casually.

Seiya just glared unenthusiastically back at him, but decided to hold back his anger as he didn't want to spoil the beautiful morning by slaughtering someone in front of Usagi. He remained quiet for a second as he continued to hold onto Usagi, surrounding her thin frame with his long legs and wrapping his arms around her abdomen.

Usagi blushed when she felt Seiya playing with her long, undone hair. He gently wrapped a golden strand around his forefinger, looking amused by it before turning his attention back to his subordinates, gazing at them with little anticipation.

"You know I don't plan to talk about work today. So, whatever it is, it better be important." Seiya warned plainly.

"It is, My Lord. We won't dare to butt into your precious time with Light-hime if it wasn't anything important." Hermes replied.

"We just received an invitation letter from Heaven. We thought you should know about it." Ami explained, holding up a golden envelope.

"What about it?" Seiya asked uncaringly, continuing to tease Usagi by kissing her on the cheeks and watching her cheeks burnt at his public display of affection.

Usagi frowned slightly at her fiancé before moving her face away from him, a gesture to ask him to stop teasing her and be a little more serious with the issue that her friends were trying to tell him. To her, a letter from Heaven wasn't something to be taken lightly, and she couldn't understand why Seiya would appear so unbothered by it. For all she knew, they might want to declare a war with them again for some reasons unknown to her.

It was pretty clear that their fate had changed and she was no longer Heaven's Light, so a war set up to want her back in Heaven seemed unlikely and unnecessary. Still, it worried her. She didn't want her fiancé or any of her friends to get into anything dangerous again.

"My Lord, if you were to recall, you won the Battle of the Kingship in Heaven a thousand years ago, declaring you as the legend strongest and the position to be the ruler of Heaven." Ami reminded briefly.

"The point is…?" Seiya sighed impatiently while Usagi sat up in anticipation at the announcement made.

"Apparently, Heaven is intending to host the Battle of the Kingship once again, and they're expecting our participation, as well as yours, My Lord." Ami finished simply.

"Eh? Seiya and everyone need to go on a battle?" Usagi exclaimed anxiously.

"No, I don't." Seiya declined plainly much to her surprise.

"You don't? But, they just said they want to battle you for the title." Usagi pointed out.

Seiya shrugged. "Who cares about the title? I have no interest in things like that. Besides, I've promised to spend more time with you and help out with our wedding preparation, haven't I? So, what makes them think that I'll be that free to join some silly battle?"

Instantly, Seiya turned and looked at Ami, missing the scene of Usagi smiling faintly to herself. Many times, even now, he wasn't aware how blissful he made her felt. Usagi knew that he had many matters to attend to, many important people to meet and, things to concern about, but always, he'd place her interest first above anything. He could make her feel so blessed that, at times, she suspected that it was only a dream to have such a perfect man as her future husband. But lucky for her, Seiya would often remind her of how much he truly love her by using the sweetest or most embarrassing ways that he could come out with.

"You guys can join the silly battle if you want. Just leave me out of it." Seiya waved his hand at them, gesturing them to leave.

"Yes, My Lord." Ami nodded with a smile, ready to leave.

"Wait!" Hermes cut in abruptly with an announcement. "Before we go, I've got good news for you, My Lord. It's about the wedding ceremony's loca-…"

A black sword flew out of nowhere and missed the side of Hermes' face by an inch, stopping him from saying further. Hermes' dropped his jaw as he looked fretfully at the Dark Terror that was now stuck on the door behind him before looking back front at his king who had abruptly appeared before him.

"If you try spoiling my surprise for Light again, I swear that I won't aim the door the next time." Seiya warned sternly, making Hermes grinned uneasily.

Ami shook her head at her brother's stupidity to always find new ways to provoke their king. The Dark Lord wasn't someone to mess with, they already knew that much. He was cold and merciless, at times evil even. But surprisingly, he could be really compassionate with his friends or comrades and especially warm and sweet towards Usagi, as Ami watched how her king turned to smile at Usagi, asking her to get prepared for their first date.

"Talk outside." He quickly dropped his smile when he looked back at Hermes and instructed them to leave the room.

--

Once outside the hallway, Hermes sighed sadly, "My Lord, you are always so nice and gentle to Light-hime. But why do you treat me so coldly?"

"It isn't necessary for our Lord to treat a fool like you nicely, Hermes." Ami answered bluntly on Seiya's behalf.

"That's so hurtful, Sis!" Hermes cried, pretending to be sad.

"Cut the crap for some other time." Seiya told Hermes plainly. "I supposed you found the perfect location that I've been looking for the wedding?"

Hermes nodded with a smile, "Yes, it's on earth, and like you wanted, the prehistoric castle that is built to look like a white chapel definitely fitted Light-hime's description of an ideal wedding ceremony. We've everything settled, and Gaia has even grown a field of Light-hime's favorite roses around the location. Furthermore, I've just received a message from Artemis and Venus. They said they would be back in time from their honeymoon to attend the ceremony. My Lord, your wedding with Light-hime will definitely be beautiful."

"I really appreciate the help. Thank you."

Ami and Hermes were both stunned to hear that from their lord. They could only stare at him in disbelief for a moment. He was smiling gently at them, an expression so rare that they swore they would have taken a picture of him at that moment if they had the device to do so.

Somehow, Ami found herself unable to voice against his idea to have the wedding held on earth after seeing his smile. Every single god in Heaven and Hell knew the story of the Dark Lord and the Maiden of the Light. It was hard to find someone who didn't. But no gods from Heaven was informed that they were getting married.

It would definitely anger the Elders of Heaven if they learnt about the marriage of the two legendary figures, especially when the Dark Lord had now rejected to participate in the Battle of Kingship. There was no telling what they would do on their big day, so to arrange the wedding on earth was undoubtedly a dangerous and reckless thing to do. However, seeing how satisfied their king appeared to be right now, Ami couldn't bring herself to do anything that didn't coincide with his wishes.

"It has always been a blessing to serve you, My Lord. You were the one who saved us, and if it wasn't for you, we won't be who we are now. So, we should be the one thanking you instead." Ami replied, bowing respectfully.

Seiya laughed at her remark before he turned to walk back to his room. "I'll be out on a date with Light. So, don't come looking for me even if there's something important. And also…"

"Yes, how may I help you, My Lord?" Ami offered politely.

Seiya shook his head at her, "No, from today on, don't help me with anything. I've discussed this with Taiki, and I agree as well that you shouldn't be on duty or get involve in any battle."

"But, My Lord-…"

"Should I remind you that you are a month pregnant now?" Seiya cut in bluntly. "Just relax and take care of your body. This is an order."

Ami raised her eyebrows slightly in surprise, but the Dark Lord simply ignored that look as he entered the room and closed the door at them without even waiting for her response. Hermes smiled down at his sister who was still startled by the command as he waved his hand in front of her for a second until her eyes drifted over to him.

"You don't have to look that shock, Sis. Our lord isn't as heartless as the legend claims, you should know that." Hermes pointed out with a nod.

"Who are you to tell me that when I know our lord longer than you do?" Ami commented plainly as she turned away from her brother and walked down the hallway while smiling faintly to herself.

--

* * *

--

Usagi was delighted when she saw all the bustling people around her and the wide windows of shops displaying numerous items. It had been more than a month or two since she last visited a lively city. To be among all these normal mortals again did seem pretty refreshing for Usagi as she continued to explore the city with her eyes before spotting a store that caught her interest.

"Seiya! Seiya! That store sells baby clothes! Let's go in and have a look!" Usagi suggested happily and would have slipped her hand out of his if he hadn't pulled her back on time.

"I'll really carry you the next time you try running away from me…" Seiya told her seriously.

"Heee… Sorry…" Usagi apologized playfully, sticking her tongue out at him.

Seiya looked quietly back at his fiancée before sighing in defeat. How could he not give in to her when she was acting and looking so adorable at the moment? Studying her, he could tell at once that she had specially dolled herself up today. Her hair was styled up in the usual 'Odango' fashion with tiny, pink cherry blossoms tied around her 'hair-buns'. She even took the effort to apply light make-ups, and after trying out several outfits, she eventually picked a silky, light-pink dress that he thought looked twice as sweet on her.

Since it was their first date, Usagi had decided that she wanted to make herself more beautiful for him. She knew he already thought she was gorgeous, but she wanted to be worthy to call his fiancée, and in the nearby future, his wife. She wanted to be the only woman he looked at from now on.

But little to her knowledge, her effort had turned her into the only 'eye candy' whom all the men on the street would turn to look at from the moment they stepped into the city. Being a possessive lover he was, Seiya didn't like all these men looking lustfully at his fiancée. But for Usagi's interest, he refrained himself from hurting any of them, not wanting to ruin this date which she had been looking forward to for weeks already. He knew she had always wanted to go on a normal date with him which he, as the Dark Lord, couldn't possibly give her back then.

Seiya sighed to himself. How good of a lover was he if he couldn't even go on a simple date with her? So, whatever it was, he didn't want to do anything that might upset her today, no matter how slim the chance was.

To his relief, their date was going smoothly as he had wanted. They had been to a number of baby clothing stores, and Usagi had already bought a couple of baby boy's outfits, all dark colored, which matched the style that Seiya would usually dress in. Seiya couldn't help but laughed at her ideal of their baby as he took the bags of purchased items over from her before locking her hand back in his and leading her out of the store.

He led her into another maternity store, and almost all the girls shrieked with excitement when he entered into the shop that displayed many lovely dresses. Usagi grimaced at the amount of girls staring and fawning at her charming fiancé who seemed to be ignoring all the attention. He was busy selecting an outfit for her, turning down any salesgirls who tried to talk to him, as he pulled out a snow white dress and held out to her.

Usagi flushed when she noticed that he was examining her measurable with his eyes, apparently to be imagining her wearing that garment. It looked a little too big for her, but seeing that her baby would continue to grow, it wouldn't be long before she wouldn't fit into those clothes she had now.

"It's just what I wanted." Seiya nodded, deciding to buy the garment.

"What you wanted?" Usagi asked, cocking her head slightly.

Seiya smiled mischievously at her for a second before he bent over and whispered into her ear. "Clothes that can be easily taken off…"

Usagi's face shot up to a dark red at his remark as she rapped him lightly on the chest. "You pervert! I'm not going to wear that!"

Seiya chuckled softly and decided to tease her for a bit more by buying the garment even though she insisted that she didn't want it. By the time he had done shopping, Usagi scowled at the bags of clothes that he had bought for her, making Seiya laughed at her adorable expression.

"Seiya, it's not funny! You know that it's actually a waste to buy new clothes for me. The baby will continue to grow and all these clothes won't be able to fit in the next two or three months." Usagi shrieked.

Seiya shrugged nonchalantly, "We can always get new ones then. It's just clothes, my little Usagi. Why are you getting so work up for?"

Usagi frowned and crossed her arms across her chest. She made an attempt to glare at him but realized that he was amused by it. She could even tell that he was fighting off a laugh. Slightly exasperated, she turned and started off in the opposite direction of him, deciding to abandon him together with the bags of clothes that he had bought for her. But Seiya was too quick for her as he reached out and wrapped his arms around her stomach, stopping her with an embrace from behind.

The small curve of Seiya's lips and the arms he kept around her waist seemed to enrage every girl in the store, making them stare at Usagi with deadly glint in their eyes. Though Usagi was aware of the ominous glare she was receiving, she wasn't able to resist his comforting arms.

"I'm sorry, Light. I just thought you'll look really cute wearing them. I really didn't mean to make you angry. Please forgive me." Seiya whispered gently.

Usagi blushed, her knees turning weak at his sweet apology. She swore she would have fallen over at that instant if he hadn't kept his arms around her. It was impossible to stay mad at him despite she was experiencing frequent mood swing now that she was pregnant. He would always appear to be so sweet and understanding to her recent change in temperament which ultimately made her feel bad enough to stop throwing her tantrum on him. And now, she couldn't even help but feel giddy when he was hugging her like this.

"I'm not mad at you." Usagi replied softly, glancing back at him shyly.

More than jubilant, Seiya smiled broadly, and kissed her on the cheeks, making Usagi's cheeks flared red at his public display of affection. She smiled happily back when he took her hand in his after sliding the bags onto his wrist. He led her out of the store and just kept walking straight ahead, vaguely aware that they were even moving. Their minds were focused on each other instead of the colorful city around them.

It had always been Usagi's dream to walk hand in hand with Seiya down the street, to talk and dine with him in a cafeteria without hiding, and to shop clothes for him -- a normal date that any couple would experience together. It would certainly be a dream comes true if she could live with him like that forever.

"There's something I want to show you, Light." Seiya stated, turning around to face her with a smile.

"Eh? What is it?" Usagi asked innocently.

"It's a surprise."

"Surprise?"

She tilted her head to the side, curious to know what the surprise was. Seiya's expression turned more serious showing her that he wouldn't tell her what he had in stored for her. Usagi frowned and felt her eagerness doubled. But knowing him, his surprise couldn't be anything bad. He had proved himself to be a charming and sweet lover too many times to be counted already.

"Yes, but you have to close your eyes. It won't be a surprise if you don't." He instructed quickly.

Usagi did so without a second of hesitation, trusting him easily. She raised her hands up with the expectation that he would guide her there. But instead, she felt herself being lifted off the ground and into his arms. She gasped and tried to sneak a peek, but he had covered her eyes with his hands before she saw anything other than his fingers.

"Seiya, where are we going?" Usagi asked softly.

"I'll tell you once we get there." He answered mysteriously.

She scowled at his reply but kept quiet, knowing that there was no point in pressing him further. He could turn really stubborn at such situation and there wasn't much she could do to make him talk.

But it didn't take Usagi very long to realize that they were no longer in they city as the pleasant sound of sea gulls and waves channeled into her ears. He had taken her to somewhere faraway from their planned date's location, hadn't he? But Seiya said nothing the entire journey, keeping awkwardly silent as her curiosity rose at every passing minute.

Finally, she felt him descending slowly as he settled her back onto the ground. His fingers were still over her eyelids, not allowing her to catch a glimpse around her. Growing impatient, Usagi grasped his wrist with her hands, trying to pry it from her face.

Seiya chuckled at her enthusiasm and whispered after what seemed like an eternity to her, "Alright. You can open them now."

As soon as he lifted his palm from her face, Usagi snapped her eyes open quickly, her breath catching up when she spotted the breathtaking scenery before her. They were high up on the hill of a deserted island that was surrounded by the vast, blue sea. And to her amazement, there were a variety of roses planted around her, creating a field of every kind of roses she could imagine – red, pink, yellow, white, blue.

Usagi ran around the colorful field, adoring all her favorite flowers, but she stopped and her jaw dropped when she noticed the majestic, pearl white castle situated a distance away from her. The ancient building looked like a chapel from afar, except it was much bigger, grander, and nobler. The most visually beautiful aspects of the royal castle were its stainless glass for which the stonework was a delicate framework and rose windows added to its upper level.

So, this was his surprise.

How wonderfully incredible…

"This place is where we will get married…"

Usagi spun around to face Seiya. Her eyes doubled in disbelief at what she had just heard. What? Here? On Earth? Weren't they going to host the wedding ceremony in hell just like how her friends did? He was the King of Hell. It would be so unreasonable to organize it anywhere else other than his realm. Besides, it would be really dangerous if anyone were to find out about their marriage.

"I know it's your dream to have a commoner wedding. As the Dark Lord, I could never give you the normal life you wanted, so at least, for our wedding day, I want to create something close to a normal ceremony with you. Even though this isn't really a church or chapel, I hope you'll like it…" Seiya finished with a gentle smile.

"I love it!" Usagi cried and ran back to him, throwing her arms around his neck.

"I love it! I love it! Thank you! Thank you!" She exclaimed and gave him a peck on his lips.

Seiya smiled, hugging her back. "As long as it makes you happy, I'm willing to do anything. And besides, half of the credit goes to your group of friends. Hermes was the one who found this place and Michiru planted all those roses. I'm pretty useless when it comes to things like this since it's always inconvenient for me to travel on earth and flowers just won't bloom with me around. I couldn't even guarantee you a normal date… I'm still surprise that you actually agree to marry me when I couldn't even give you most of things you wanted."

Usagi threw him a shock look before she grasped tightly onto him and exclaimed, "Of course I want to get married to you! What are you think?! You're the best fiancé and husband any girl would ever ask for! I don't even know where to start commending on you because you are just so perfect. It's already a miracle to have you by my side, and I won't ask for anything more. I love you, Seiya! I love you!"

"And, I love you..." Seiya whispered, embracing her tightly in his hold. "It may probably seem like a joke, but it's true… I want to be with you forever."

Her ears absorbed his words hungrily as she smiled to herself.

"Me too. I want to be together forever…"

The Millennium Star glinted at her reply, ending the scene with a spark of true love.

--

* * *

--

-- A Month Later –

--

On the day of a supposedly fairytale-like wedding, a war broke loose just outside the ceremony chapel. The sky was covered with black clouds and loud strike of lightings could be heard as Haruka sent down a fierce thunder bolt by the castle's entrance, warning the uninvited guests to keep their distance.

"They are sure persistent, aren't they?" Yaten, the best man, commented as he leaned against the wall.

Taiki shrugged, "It's our lord's big day, and as expected, no one would want to miss it."

"But shouldn't we help Haruka out for a bit? It wouldn't be fair for him to be the only one entertaining the guests outside." Yaten suggested thoughtfully.

Taiki shook his head, "I'm sure he doesn't need any help. It's our lord we should be worrying about."

"Seiya? What's there about him to be worried over?" Yaten asked in surprise.

Taiki just smiled subtly back, allowing the sudden loud crashes and bangs on the door of the dressing room to answer his question. The big wooden access fell apart and landed on the marble floor with a loud thud as the angry groom stomped out into the waiting hall.

"You shouldn't take your anger out on the door, my Lord. It's innocent." Taiki chuckled.

"I would have gone out and bring all those heaven's pests to hell if it wasn't my big day today." Seiya growled as he eyed angrily at the close entrance that was a distance away from them before looking over to Yaten only to find his best man staring intensely at him.

Seiya sighed, "What is it?"

"Nothing. I just thought that you're truly very good-looking today." Yaten shrugged

Seiya widened his eyes while Taiki nodded in agreement. It hadn't occurred to him of how perfectly charming he looked in his dark silvery tailcoat that was worn over his white tuxedo. His long dark hair which he left hanging neatly down his broad shoulders overshadowed the beautiful blue rose that was protruding out from his front pocket.

He looked away and ran his fingers through his hair awkwardly, "Forget about me. Where's my bride?"

"Still in the dressing room, my Lord." Taiki answered briefly.

Seiya turned around to head for the last room which lay at the far east of the hall, but before he could even come within a foot to the door, Hermes appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, blocking his path with his arms stretched wide open.

Seiya's face sharpened into a deathly glare, making the Grim Reaper dropped onto his knees frightfully. "My deepest apology, My Lord. But according to the mortal's belief, seeing the bride before the ceremony is back luck. You shouldn't do it under any circumstances."

"Who on earth came up with such superstition?" Seiya growled in disbelief.

"It's true, My Lord." Taiki added, coming into Hermes' aid. "You got to follow such tradition if you want to keep the wedding running as how Usagi would like it to be."

"Then tell me, Taiki. How am I supposed to protect my bride from those bastards outside if I'm not allowed to see her?" Seiya inquired out of exasperation and scowled at the forbidden door before him in consideration to break it down.

"You don't have to worry, My Lord. Usagi will be safe with the bridesmaids and the guardians protecting her…" Taiki informed.

Seiya grimaced but did not protest further. Though he knew that nothing bad could happen to Usagi with the guardians around, he was still worried and dissatisfied. Today was supposed to be the happiest day of his life, not another warring event that threatened to break him and Usagi apart. It wasn't even fair now that he couldn't be the first one to see his beautiful bride or protect her even.

Seiya angrily sat himself down in the seat at the back of the hall. He folded his arms across his chest and gazed expressionlessly at the main entrance that was a distance away, seemingly to be anticipating someone to burst through the huge double-doors. The two, metal doors did burst open a second later, but it wasn't just a single someone who broke into the castle.

It was a troop of Heavenly soldiers.

They tried to force their way through and even broke down the white brick walls that surrounded the entrance. As the access collapse, huge icy shards shot out of the collision and flew straight at the Dark Lord who didn't even flinched an inch at the attack.

He just lay back and closed his eyes, unbothered by the approaching ice spikes as Haruka appeared from above and blocked them with his daggers in attempt to protect his king. He glided to the side when Taiki sent a powerful blast of wind forward, breaking the icy shards into many tiny pieces.

"We have some stubborn guests with us today." Haruka announced as he flew back and landed steadily next to the seated Seiya, joining his three friends who were also standing quietly besides their king.

By the time everything quieted down, they were greeted by a tall, unknown man wearing an eye-mask. The rest of the officers and soldiers remained station outside, too intimidated by the Dark Lord's presence to even be anywhere near him. Their new commander acted otherwise, bowing respectfully before the Hell King with a genuine smile.

"Please pardon us for coming uninvited. I'm Endymion, the thirteenth discipline of the Three Elders in Heaven, and you must be the great Dark Lord. It's really my pleasure to finally get to meet you in person. I've heard a lot about you from the Elders."

"Those old geezers really did it this time, sending such a brave soul down to ruin my big day. You do know the consequences, don't you?" Seiya stated as he opened his eyes and glared coldly at Endymion, sending him a death warning.

But to everyone's surprise, Endymion just laughed softly, seemingly to be unaffected by the Dark Lord's deathly glare, making Seiya narrowed his eyes at him with slight amazement.

"Ah, it seems like he's immune to your presence, Seiya." Yaten commented casually, watching Endymion straightened his posture and apologized a second later.

"I'm really sorry, Dark Lord. I didn't mean to be rude. But, I couldn't help but feel amazed."

"Amazed?" Seiya eyed questionably at him.

Endymion nodded with a smile, "You see, from what I've heard, the Dark Lord is the most powerful and feared being throughout the Millennium. So, I've always pictured you as some monstrous looking, distorted creature from Hell. But, I'm really amazed that you have such a beautiful face and figures. If only you're a girl, I'd have allowed myself to fall in love with you."

His comment left Seiya speechless and his friends chuckling softly beside him. They seemed to be agreeing with him even though they were completely aware of how irritated their king was feeling now. It wasn't like the Dark Lord to be tolerating such nonsense coming from an intruder, but he, more than anyone, didn't want to start a battle and ruin Usagi's ideal wedding. However, if they were here to steal his bride away, that would be a different story altogether.

"Cut the nonsense. What exactly do you want?" Seiya demanded bluntly.

"We are here for you, Dark Lord." Endymion announced.

"What?" Both Yaten and Haruka burst out together.

"Yes, you should understand that the Battle of the Kingship can't go on without your participation, Dark Lord. As much as the Highness is upset with your wedding ceremony, our Majesty and Elders are going wild by your declination to participate in the battle. So, they send us here to bring you back with us, Dark Lord." Endymion explained.

Seiya smirked, "Can you?"

"I'll try my best." Endymion replied politely.

As soon as he snapped his fingers, the area around him began to solidify into ice, spreading and extending to the sides of the walls and up the ceiling. The Dark Lord and the generals had already flew out from their respective spot by the time the hall of ice split and broke apart, causing a dangerous mass of collision.

Seiya let out a frustrating breath when he heard a loud explosion coming from the exterior. The army of intruders had invaded in and none of them were considerate enough to minimize the damage they were doing to the grand building. Instead of defending their lord, the generals and guardians had all gathered around Usagi as ordered, protecting her from the messy collision and vicious assault.

As the wall of her dressing room collided, Seiya could spot Usagi frozen by the door and gawking at the sight before her. She looked ready to drop her flowers and pinch her cheeks to wake up from this nightmare. If her arms weren't linked to Minako's, she surely would have fallen by now.

He couldn't even appreciate how beautiful she looked in the pure white gown with her long tresses curled and pinned back as Endymion abruptly attacked him from upfront, forcing Seiya to fly back to avoid his flying icy daggers.

"You can't win me if you aren't going to take me seriously, Dark Lord." Endymion stated as he crashed his ice blade against Seiya's Dark Terror.

But still, Seiya paid no attention to Endymion, his eyes fluttering back to Usagi's every other second when he noticed her widening her eyes at him. She called out to him and tried dashing out from her safety zone but was immediately held back by the guardians.

Noticing Usagi, Endymion broke his attacking stance on Seiya and looked into her direction. He could barely catch a complete glimpse of the beautiful bride when a dark blade slashed out from the side, blocking his vision on Usagi and missing his face by just an inch. He nearly couldn't dodge the silent attack as he quickly raised his icy blade to defend the next coming strike.

The two thin blades collided with a sharp clang, drawing in everyone's attention.

"Don't look at her." Seiya growled fiercely.

"She seemed really precious to you, Dark Lord. May I assume that she's the legendary Maiden of the Light that everyone is fussing over then?" Endymion asked courteously.

"She's no longer the Maiden. She's my wife!" Seiya retorted before he exerted more force and cracked the Endymion's icy blade with his Dark Terror.

Endymion nodded, seemingly to understand the situation as he quickly reformed his broken ice sword into a shield, blocking the Dark Lord's next critical strike. The shield shattered which caused Endymion to leap back into a safe distance. Bowing his head, he apologized to the Dark Lord who was now glaring down at him from above.

"I'm sorry if I've offended you. You need not worry about the maid-… I mean your wife… Like I've said, we just want you back with us, Dark Lord. We aren't here to bring harm to anyone."

"Then try explaining the mess you've created!"

Everyone, including Seiya, turned around to face the source of the cry. They watched in absolute shock as the angry bride stepped out from her circle of protection and pointed her index at Endymion and the surrounding intruders.

"I had enough of all of you Heaven people! First, you tried to separate Seiya from me with a war and now you want to take him away from our wedding?! Do you know how much work everyone have put in for today? Yet, you just came and ruined everything?! What makes you think I can tolerate such nonsense? I'm pregnant and I have a temper too!" Usagi declared angrily.

She glared sternly at Endymion who, along with the rest of his troop, was too startled for words. That was a quick way to destroy the fantasy image of a beautiful bride, but what shocked them further was that the maiden was actually carrying the Dark Lord's child? That was one, big news that would shook the Heaven's ground.

Seiya had his forehead covered with his hand and was shaking his head back and forth. He watched as Michiru and the others tried pulling Usagi back towards them in the attempt to calm her down, but Usagi shook them off in exasperation before turning around to face Endymion again.

"Hey you! You'll have to get past me if you want to take Seiya away!"

Endymion shook his head with a smile, "No, no. I'd rather kiss than hurt a gorgeous lady like you."

"Don't joke around with me!" Usagi snapped as numerous bright orbs began to emerge from the crumbled ground.

There wasn't even enough time to feel astonished by the sudden appearance of the mysterious particles as they simultaneously shot out a ray of beam, causing more walls to collapse and some of the soldiers to retreat. Strangely, the yellow orbs didn't react and attack any of the Hell generals or guardians, only sensing the intruders and homing in on them. Endymion shielded himself in an ice block as the orbs gathered around him and shot out an energy blast strong enough to break though his defense.

With the attempt to escape, Endymion leaped up and dodged the powerful beams with his incredible reflexes. Usagi let out a soft huff of frustration when she noticed that all her attacks had missed Endymion.

Her mood had gotten from bad to worse, and none of her friends dared to try stopping her due to the murderous aura steaming out of her. Though they knew that she had gotten her spirit essence back, they definitely didn't guess that her renewed power was that destructive. Besides, none of them had seen her looking this angry before and were either scared or shocked stiff. Hermes even hugged Minako in fright, but only to get beaten up by Yaten in the process.

Usagi seemed to be ignoring the internal conflict as she raised her index up and aimed at Endymion. The tip of her finger started to glow, drawing in energy to send them out at Endymion. But someone drew her into his arms from behind and seized her attack.

"Enough, Light." Seiya whispered gently.

Her anger died down at the sound of his voice as she dropped her hand and turned over to clinch onto him.

"Seiya, Seiya! Bu-but they ruined the wedding! And they want to take you away! I don't want that, I don't want to be separated from you anymore!" Usagi cried.

Her friends let out a sigh of relief, glad that she had returned to her normal self. For a moment there, they thought she was going to destroy the whole building or island even before she was willing to stop. Now, no one would disagree that she made a perfect Queen of Hell after seeing her scary tantrum.

Seiya, on the other hand, had forgotten his fury after witnessing his wife's rage. He shook his head with a smile as he continued to stroke her back, trying to calm her down.

"No one is ever going to separate us, silly. We are going to be together forever remember?" He told her softly.

"Really? But the wedding…"

"We'll fix it and host it again in the next year or two."

"Next year or two…" Usagi scowled slightly, not noticing the additional amount of damage she had done to the place which most probably needed more than a year of renovation to get everything back to their original looks.

Seiya grinned sadly and kissed her on the forehead, "I'm sorry that I couldn't give you a perfect wedding today. Please forgive me. I'll make sure it will never happen again and everything will turn out well on our next ceremony."

Usagi shook her head and looked up at him with a smile, "Don't apologize. It wasn't your fault. A year or two is nothing when I've already waited a thousand years to be with you. Besides, I should be really happy since our baby can also attend the wedding with us by then."

Seiya held her back into his arms and smiled gratefully, "You're too forgiving."

"_No, she isn't!"_

Almost everyone in the background shrieked in their thoughts as they gestured at the damage done around them, but unlike them, the Dark Lord didn't seem to be bothered by the horrible aftermath.

He glanced up, not surprise to learn that the rest of the officers and troop had already retreated into a safe distance. Only Endymion remained at the spot where he last saw him, clapping and complimenting Usagi out of amazement.

"I'm impressed. This is my first time facing a beauty as strong as you, maiden. Hell is really amazing. Not only are the ladies beautiful, but they're powerful as well. I should really reconsider switching over and serving under you, Dark Lord." He stated half-jokingly.

"Seiya doesn't need someone as inconsiderate as you! Go away!" Usagi ordered on Seiya's behalf.

Seiya sighed as he quickly yanked her head back under his arm, not giving Endymion anymore chance to look at her. Usagi didn't resist his possessive embrace though she wasn't quite finish with venting out her frustration on Endymion.

"You hear her. Pretty soon my wife is going to burn you alive if you foolishly decide not to leave in this very instant." Seiya told him with a hint of a cold smile.

"Dark Lord, please understand that I cannot leave without your consent to participate in the Battle of the Kingship. And even if I were to go now, the commanders of the 2nd and 3rd divisions will soon send their troop down to persuade you. It'd still be the same ultimately." Endymion explained.

Seiya swore under his breath, suddenly feeling the urge to break into Heaven and eradicated whatever division that might threaten to interfere with his next wedding with Usagi. In fact, he was sure he would have declared another war with them if Ami hadn't stepped in the next second with a suggestion.

"My Lord, may I…?"

"Go ahead." Seiya permitted uncaringly.

Ami turned around to face Endymion with a smile, "My name is Ami Mizuno. Would you please listen to my proposal?"

Endymion just stared quietly at Ami for a moment, apparently unable to guess that she was the infamous assistant of the Dark Lord, Mercury, without her mask on. Nevertheless, he nodded and smiled friendly back, "Sure."

"Please inform the Elders that the five Generals from Hell will be participating in the Battle of the Kingship, and unless they are defeated, our Lord won't be joining."

While Seiya smirked at the plan, the rest of the generals, besides Taiki, nodded in agreement.

"So, in other words, we'll have to get through the five generals in order to fight the Dark Lord. Interesting… I'm sure the Elders will accept your compromise and I personally would like to face the undefeated Mercury." Endymion commented.

"No, she won't be joining. Mercury will be off-duty for the next nine month." Taiki announced quickly, making Ami smiled at his concern for her and their baby.

"That wouldn't do…" Endymion trailed off.

"Me! Me! I can take over Mercury's place!" Eres interrupted, rising up his hand in excitement.

Nyx shook her head, "No, you're not even half as good as Mercury. I'm afraid you might disgrace our reputation and pull everyone down."

"How about we have a battle now, and decide who is better enough to take over Mercury?" Eres challenged playfully.

"Can I join too?" Usagi cut in, wanting to be part of the contest and fight for her husband.

Everyone widened their eyes at her proposal, but Seiya was the first one to shout out an objection. "Of course not!"

"Why not? But I want to…" Usagi pleaded softly.

"Yes, why not, Dark Lord?" Endymion added. "Come to look at it. She might actually win the tournament."

"You shut up! And leave at once to report to the old geezers before I slice your head off and give it to them as a souvenir." Seiya ordered sternly before dropping his anger and returning his attention to Usagi.

He sighed, "If you are not worried about yourself, at least do so for the baby."

"Yes, Usagi. You can take Ami as your role model." Taiki added.

Ami nodded with a hint of a smile, "Yes, though it was against my will to resign temporary…"

"I only want you and our child to be safe." Taiki told his wife softly.

"I know." Ami smiled warmly back.

Usagi simply nodded at the scene of Ami and Taiki hugging before an idea struck her as she happily turned to face her husband once again, "Next time, Sei can participate in the tournament too. He'll definitely create a new legend, just like his father."

Seiya laughed and shook his head, "Don't get your hopes up, Light. It would be a headache if he takes after me too much…"

Usagi disagreed, instead believing that everything that mirrored Seiya's characteristics would be more than beautiful. She was certain that their child would grow up to be strong enough to participate in the next Battle of the Kingship in his father's place where such fights was unavoidable. For now, she could only pray for her friends and hope that the battle would end sooner so she could settle peacefully down with her family and friends.

--

-- Two Years Later --

--

"Cupid-chan! Come back!"

Minako shouted, chasing after her son who was running about the ceremonial hall with a bow and arrow in his hands. He was still giggling by the time Yaten trod over and swept him into his arms. Yaten shook his head when his son laughed and swung his little weapon around playfully.

"Da Di!" Cupid greeted him happily.

Yaten simply smiled and patted Cupid's head before he handed him over to Minako who was already scowling at her son mischievous behavior.

"Do you know that it's so much tougher to take care of you than those competitors in the Battle of the Kingship? You got to give us a break once in a while, Cupid-chan." Minako scolded lightly, only to receive a smile from little Cupid.

Minako sighed, finding her anger vanished the moment he smiled at her. It was impossible to stay angry at something that looked so perfectly innocent and beautiful. Yaten laughed at her reaction as he ran his fingers through the soft, golden locks covering his son's tiny head.

"The competitors are nothing compared to our little precious. Seiya retained his title without even having to turn up for any rounds." Yaten commented.

"Artemis-dono."

Yaten looked down only to find a little girl pulling his trousers.

"What is it, little Nike?" He smiled.

"Ceremony is about to start. I can take care of Cupid-chan for you." She offered.

"Thank you. That's really sweet of you, Nike-chan. Do you mind bringing Cupid to the washroom before the ceremony begins?" Minako requested with a smile and settled Cupid down to the floor.

Nike nodded and took Cupid by his hand, dragging the reluctant boy over to the large, arched, double doors. But before she could even try reaching for the handle, the doors flung open abruptly as Seiya stepped in, looking anything but pleased. He unintentionally glowered at the two little ones staring up at him, making them burst into tears in fright.

Cupid turned around and ran down the long red aisle, crying, "Da Di!"

"My Lord, please take back your killing instinct. You're scaring the children." Taiki, appearing from behind, stated as he carried his daughter into his arms in an attempt to calm her down.

"Get him off me then." Seiya growled, gesturing down at the little boy clinging onto his leg.

Everyone turned their attention down to Sei who was now looking up at his father with a pout, "Ha Ha! Sei wants Ha Ha!"

--

"_Ha Ha is an address to one's mother, while Chi chi addressed one's father." – Japanese translation._

--

The rest of the occupants in the room giggled. If Seiya wasn't standing there, they could have sworn that Sei was their lord in his miniature form. He behaved and looked like him in all aspects. The only distinguishing feature was the child's wide, light blue eyes, his most gorgeous feature according to Seiya.

"I want your mother too, Sei." Seiya sighed as he finally bent over to pick his son up.

"Chi chi?" Sei asked.

"Yes?" Seiya smiled back at him.

"Fly, fly?" He requested and flapped his tiny arms up and down.

"Not today, Sei. Your mother will scold me if she finds out that I secretly brought you out again." Seiya told him with a smile.

"Shhh… No tell Ha Ha." Sei whispered as he placed his little finger against his lips.

"Yes, but Sei got to be a good boy and stay with the guardians for now alright?" Seiya instructed softly before handing him over to Nyx who happily cradled the little prince in her arms.

The music started shortly as everyone quickly hurried back to their respective position. Sei followed reluctantly but turned quiet the moment Nyx handed over a basket of flowers for him to play with. But he soon lost interest on the bouquet when he saw his mother walked down the long aisle, looking astonishingly beautiful in her white silky grown decorated with thousand of tiny white beads and flowery lace.

Sei started at Usagi in awe as he watched his father extended his hand out to her and led her up the altar. Settling in her position besides Seiya with her hands locked in his, Usagi smiled and faced Hermes, who happened to win the battle of _who-will-play-the-priest contest _much to everyone's exasperation, as he began the ceremony in his own fashion.

"Do you, My Lord, take Light-hime to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love and to cherish her. Till death do you apart?"

"What is going to do whom apart?" Seiya glowered at Hermes, making Usagi gasped at her husband's sudden annoyance.

Hermes smiled anxiously, "But, My Lord, I'm only following the book…"

"Burn the book and change it." He demanded bluntly.

"Yes, My Lord." Hermes cried animation tears before correcting. "…Nothing shall do the both of you apart and to be together forever?"

"I do." Seiya replied, finally satisfied.

"Do you, Light-hime, take My Lord to be lawfully wedded husband? To love and to cherish and to be together forever?"

"I do." Usagi nodded with a wide smile.

"Then I pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride." Hermes concluded excitedly.

Seiya smiled faintly before reaching forward to lift the veil from Usagi's face. But the moment he bent forward to place a chaste peck on her lips, Sei somehow managed to escape from the guardian's watchful eyes and dashed forward to the altar.

"Ha Ha! Kiss kiss! Kiss kiss!" He cried and hopped up and down impatiently until Usagi blushed and picked him up.

Hoisted in Usagi's arms, Sei leaned forward and mimicked Seiya as he kissed his mother on her lips much to his father's exasperation. He continued to cling onto Usagi with all his limbs as if he was afraid that she would chase him away if he was to let go. He eventually looked back and furrowed his brow at Seiya, whom he deemed too close to his mother. After swinging his feet and kicking Seiya's lightly when he tried to separate him from his mother, Sei buried his face in Usagi's chest, possessively gripping her.

"No, Sei-chan! No hitting your father!" Usagi scolded when she noticed the frown across Seiya's face.

"But, my Ha Ha!" Sei cried stubbornly as he duck his head under Usagi's arm.

"Oh my… There they go again." Michiru exclaimed worriedly.

"I hope our little one here won't turn out to be like that." Haruka prayed softly as he touched his wife's round belly.

Seiya sighed out of frustration as he once again tried to come out with a solution to separate Sei from Usagi without having to upset the both of them. He bent over so that he was at eye level with Sei.

"I'm not going to share your mother with you if don't behave yourself, Sei."

Sei peered back at his father through the glistering tears, asking. "Then can Chi chi let Ha Ha breastfeed Sei too?"

"Eh?"

"What?"

Both Usagi and Seiya blanked out at his request while the rest of the occupants in the room dropped their jaws.

"Uncle Hermes said Ha Ha breastfeed Chi Chi every night in bed. Sei wants breastfeed too!" Sei cried.

Everyone froze at that instant, anticipating an upcoming wrath to take place.

"HERMES!! What the hell have you been teaching my son?!" Seiya roared angrily as he peered around to look for the culprit, but he was no where to be found.

"He ran, My Lord." Ami smiled and pointed to the door.

"I want him back and sliced into a gazillion pieces at once!" Seiya ordered his men to pursue Hermes.

He quickly turned around to face Usagi only to find her frozen to the spot with a deeply red face. She allowed Nyx to take Sei over from her as she quickly covered her cheeks with both hands, seeing as everyone refused to look away to let her cheeks return to their normal color.

Seiya dropped his anger temporary at his wife's adorable expression. He wrapped his arm around her head and pulled her into his chest to discourage anyone from looking at her and in the attempt to calm her down. But his action only made her heart pounded even louder and she'd better off not knowing how closely she resembled a tomato right now.

"This is so embarrassing…" She breathed shyly and grasped onto his jacket.

Seiya shook his head with a faint smile, disagreeing with her words. "Shouldn't you be happy instead?"

Surprised, Usagi could only look up and blink in response.

His face broke out a wide smile as he bent down and paused just before his lips touch hers. "Because finally we can be together…"

"…forever." She finished it off for him and ended the scene with a kiss.

--

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That's for the wedding :). Remember to **review** and I hope you enjoyed.

Update your bookmark for the Love Legend site to:

Thelovelegend(dot)bravehost(dot)com

_I may upload our new illustration for the Love Legend this month or the next. So do check for update then._

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